SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Oct. 13 (UPI) -- California gubernatorial nominees Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman sparred Tuesday in their last debate while keeping tight grips on their campaign themes.
The toughest moment involved an incident in which someone from the Brown camp, in a taped telephone call, suggested calling Whitman a political "whore," the Los Angeles Times reported. Brown, questioned by moderator Tom Brokaw, said he had apologized and then said former Gov. Pete Wilson, who heads Whitman's campaign, once called politicians "whores."
"The fact you are defending your campaign for a slur and a personal attack on me, I think it's not befitting of California, it's not befitting of the office that you're running for," Whitman said.
The race pits Brown, 72, the Democratic state attorney general and former governor, against a former eBay chief executive officer who is a generation younger and in her first campaign for office.
In the format of the debate at Dominican University in San Rafael, Brokaw moderated and asked questions, giving the candidates a chance to address each other.
The candidates are scheduled to meet one final time Oct. 26 in a panel with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
