Both Republican candidates for governor have taken campaign cash from vendors who got unbid state contracts, according to records obtained by The Columbus Dispatch that dispute Kenneth Blackwell's previous claims that he has never taken such contributions.

A story from the AP says, Blackwell, Ohio's secretary of state, now admits to taking money, but says the contributions were nominal compared with what Attorney General Jim Petro took from lawyers who received no-bid work from the special counsel program Petro runs. Blackwell claims Petro took $1.6 million in such contributions.

Democrats and Blackwell have accused Petro of awarding state work based on lawyers' campaign contributions, and FBI agents have interviewed two lawyers about the allegations.

Blackwell said he would return the contributions from vendors who got unbid work if Petro did too.

A Petro spokesman said Blackwell is trying to avoid being labeled a hypocrite.

Click here to read more of this story from the AP.