FARGO - The challenger for attorney general says incumbent Wayne Stenehjem should cut his ties to a Republican attorneys general group because of a conflict of interest with tobacco companies, an allegation Stenehjem calls "ludicrous."

Stenehjem should give back money he has received from the Republican Attorneys General Association, or RAGA, because the group asks for donations from companies that are potential targets for litigation, Democrat Bruce Schoenwald said Wednesday.

"How can we expect this attorney general to adequately police the tobacco settlement … when he is a card-carrying member and former officer of an organization started to oppose the tobacco lawsuits?" Schoenwald said.

North Dakota was among numerous states that reached a lawsuit settlement with the nation's largest tobacco companies in 1998. The companies agreed to pay more than $200 billion to compensate states for smoking-related health-care expenses and for allegedly violating antitrust laws.

Stenehjem denied that RAGA was founded because of tobacco litigation and said he has regularly sued tobacco companies. He also said he would agree to stop taking money from RAGA if Schoenwald can persuade all candidates to refuse contributions from similar groups.

"I would bet that if the Democratic Attorneys General Association offers him financial support, he would take it," Stenehjem said. "To imply that campaign contributions from groups like the Republican Attorneys General Association is influencing my work as attorney general is ludicrous."

In his first press conference since he was nominated as the Democratic candidate for attorney general, Schoenwald outlined what he believes to be three key campaign issues. He said he can do a better job than Stenehjem on methamphetamine abuse prevention, workers compensation and consumer protection.

While the state has done a good job prosecuting drug dealers and busting meth labs, the emphasis should be on prevention, Schoenwald said.

"They need to get after at-risk groups and focus on early intervention," he said. "They need to get at children in grade schools."

Schoenwald said he also would create a task force that covers enforcement, treatment and education.

"He's three years late on that," said Stenehjem, who started a program in 2002 that led to several new laws on meth.

The timing of Schoenwald's criticism is ironic, Stenehjem said, because Stenehjem was asked to talk about North Dakota's war on meth to a group of about 20 attorneys general on Wednesday morning in Colorado.

Schoenwald also said he would work to bring control of the Workforce Safety and Insurance department, formerly the Workers Compensation Bureau, back under the state Industrial Commission. Stenehjem agreed that the department should be under the governor's control, but said if Schoenwald wants to change that, "he needs to run for the Legislature."

Schoenwald also said that recent legislation that allows for payday loan companies in North Dakota needs more attention from the attorney general's office. He said he would create a position dedicated to the investigation and prevention of predatory lending.

"There is a growing problem there, but it hasn't gotten large enough to get onto the radar screen yet," Schoenwald said.

The consumer complaint process needs to be improved, Schoenwald said. Too often people are directed to a recording that instructs them to fill out lengthy and confusing forms, he said.

"We have a small staff of 10 people who average more than 100 calls a day," Stenehjem said. "Nobody who makes a call to the consumer protection division finds that their calls aren't answered."

The complaint forms are easy to understand and available on the Web site, Stenehjem said.

Earlier this week, Stenehjem was endorsed by the North Dakota Education Association for the second straight time.

"I think they made the wrong choice," Schoenwald said of the NDEA's nod.