2 defend negative ads

In a KUED Ch. 7 debate Thursday night, moderator Ken Verdoia said the 2nd District ad campaigns "were dripping with slime," and he asked Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson and Republican John Swallow to justify the ads they are running:

Matheson said: "For four weeks I ran a positive campaign. Then $1 million came misstating or lying" about his voting record. "I had to set it right. It's dirty politics."

Swallow said: "I've had hundreds of thousands of dollars (spent on an ad) having a nuclear bomb blowing up behind my head," leading people to think he supports open-air testing. "I would never support that, and my record on that is clear."