Attorney general candidate refuses lawyer contributions

A Republican candidate for Missouri attorney general says he won't take campaign contributions from lawyers even though he wants to be the state's top lawyer.

Chris Byrd, a Kansas City lawyer, said he doesn't think the attorney general should take contributions from other lawyers because of a possible conflict of interest should they end up on opposite sides in future court cases.

"You just have an appearance of impropriety," Byrd said during a visit to the Southeast Missourian newspaper office in Cape Girardeau on Friday.

In contrast, Byrd said Attorney General Jay Nixon, who is seeking re-election, is supported by trial lawyers.

Byrd favors tort reform to prevent frivolous lawsuits that hurt the medical and business community.

He seeks to unseat Nixon, a Democrat. He is one of two Republicans in the August primary. The other is Dewey Crepeau of Columbia.

Byrd said Nixon has been part of a Democratic administration in the state that has been "hostile to business." Byrd, who represents developers and a chain of nursing homes, said that would change if he is elected attorney general.

If elected, he said he would re-evaluate the entire attorney general's office and seek to operate it more efficiently.

He acknowledged he's in a tough race. "We know we have some challenges," he said, adding that Nixon has a well-funded campaign.

Byrd hopes Republicans also take back the governor's mansion in November. "Since 1945, there's been only two times that the governor and attorney general weren't from the same party," he said.

He said his own election chances would be helped if voters elect Republican Matt Blunt as governor.