Remember last week when I said the Attorney General’s race is the one to watch at the statewide level?

Looks like state Republicans might think so, too. Why else do you start slinging mud at Democratic nominee and well respected lawyer Linda Pence?

The Indiana Republican Party is questioning whether Linda Pence, the Democratic nominee for Indiana attorney general, can be trusted to head that office, given some of the clients that she has defended.

“Linda Pence has a long client list full of bad actors and corrupt figures,” said Jay Kenworthy, GOP communications director. “While Linda Pence has been out trying to get reduced penalties for companies like CR3 and Rieth-Riley, Greg Zoeller has been working for the taxpayers of Indiana, protecting their tax dollars and keeping the criminals in jail.”

The 53-year-old Zoeller, the Republican nominee, is chief deputy attorney general under Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter.

Besides being a defense attorney, Pence is a former federal prosecutor who also successfully represented the state in the White River fish kill litigation.

“This is a feeble, desperate attack,” said Pence, 58, an Indianapolis attorney.

“I’ve been talking issues and trying to schedule debates, but his manager … wouldn’t discuss scheduling debates,” she said. “He doesn’t want to talk issues. So instead, what do you do? He’s attacking me for being experienced.”

Both candidates are still relatively unknown outside of political circles, but Pence has a couple things going for her in my estimation: (1) her last name, which is the same as a certain Republican vote-getter in the Sixth Congressional District; and (2) she’s a woman.

On that last point, here’s a theory: We’ve got two dudes on the presidential ballot. We’ve got the first female gubernatorial nominee in Indiana history, but she’s going nowhere fast against a reinvented, well funded incumbent. That being the case, might Hoosiers split their ticket a little further down in order to cast a vote for a tough, brassy gal who has the know-how to take on big cases and big issues?

I’ve never been a big believer that women vote for women because they’re women (see also: Sarah Palin’s plummeting poll numbers), but I think there might be voters out there who want a diverse ticket that includes someone like Linda Pence.

At this point, it’s just a theory, but if the GOP’s attacking, Pence must be doing something right.

If you’re looking for a statewide contest to watch, may I suggest the race for Attorney General between Democrat Linda Pence and Republican Greg Zoeller?

Both candidates have been raising money and working at the grassroots level, and Pence today put out a very comprehensive plan to crack down on child abuse.

“In the last year, there have been two deaths of infants in foster homes in Marion County alone, and hundreds of other infants and children have died or suffered serious, grave injuries,” Pence said. “Our children deserve thorough, independent, comprehensive investigations performed by trained professionals with integrity whose mission will be to determine precisely what happened, whether someone was responsible for the death or injuries, and then be empowered to take swift action against anyone accountable.”

This is one of those races that doesn’t get a lot of attention in a normal year, let alone with Indiana in play at the presidential level. Keep your eye on it.

It’ll probably take a few more days for the wounds to heal after Monday’s GOP convention, where chief deputy attorney general Greg Zoeller upset Guv-backed Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas to secure the Republican nomination for the state’s top legal job.

While that family feud gets patched up, Democrat Linda Pence, a well respected Indianapolis lawyer, will kick off her campaign with a statewide fly-around tomorrow. She’ll visit six cities to promote her bid. From the press release:

“I am running for Attorney General because Hoosiers need an independent voice to stand up for them,” said Pence, a practicing attorney for 34 years. “Whether it’s fighting mortgage and consumer fraud, or battling the scourge of methamphetamine in our communities, Hoosiers deserve an Attorney General who is tireless and relentless. I am ready for the challenge.”

A 1971 graduate of Indiana University, Linda Pence worked her way through IU’s law school, taking night classes while holding down two jobs. She began her legal career with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), where she took on big oil companies when gasoline price gouging was a common practice. During her nearly ten years at the DOJ, Pence also investigated corporations for bribery, embezzlement and tax fraud.

Make no mistake: Pence is tough, and according to this story, she raised almost a quarter-million dollars in less than three months.

Greg Zoeller didn’t have much of a wedding ceremony at Monday’s convention, and he’s certainly not going to get a honeymoon with Pence officially hitting the trail.

Most political insiders are chattering tonight about chief deputy attorney general Greg Zoeller’s landslide upset over Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas in the GOP state convention fight to become the nominee for Attorney General this year.

By golly, I’m not going to be left out of a good debate.

What does it mean?

The Guv and his crew backed Costas, and from all reports, that backing meant lots of arm-twisting and behind-closed-doors negotiations for delegate votes.

That’s not surprising. This is politics, after all, not table tennis.

What is surprising is that it didn’t work.

By more than 350 votes.

Insiders may say Costas ran a terrible campaign, and if these video clips are any indication, yes, he did.

And Zoeller had several high-profile names, including Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi, on his endorsement list.

But there’s no way this isn’t a huge embarrassment for the Guv. Zoeller fought the law, and, uh, he won.

What does it mean for November? Potentially nothing. The down-ticket statewide races most often depend on the top-ticket contenders, which means that if John McCain and the Guv do well, Zoeller will probably do well, too.

Still, it’s not often that you get to see this kind of fight in the bare light of day, played out in front of thousands of party faithful and the media.

Congratulations, Greg. You’ve gone and made things really interesting, and I can guarantee you’ll be getting more than a few phone calls this week from Costas supporters looking to get right before November.

Greg Zoeller won his party’s nomination by more than 1000 votes.  Here’s why.

1.  Jon Costas ran a campaign that was slow to get out of the gate.

2.  Zoeller built a lot of good will over the years and worked his butt off.

3.  Some County chairman had an axe to grind with the Governor.

4.  The Ron Paul supporters who had an axe to grind with the State party.

At the end of the day, does it matter.  It depends on your perspective.  But a win is win.