JEFFERSON CITY -- Missouri Attorney General and 2008 gubernatorial candidate Jay Nixon has backtracked on his use of state-funded cars and security detail to attend his own campaign rallies.

Nixon's campaign released a statement Friday saying that his campaign would, after all, reimburse the state's taxpayers for these expenses. Two days earlier his office had stated this was unnecessary because Nixon served as a 24/7 AG and so always needed his state car and security detail, LNL reported.

Revelations that Nixon has campaigned around the Show-Me State at state expense set off a political flap that his campaign acknowledged had been politically damaging. "The debate surrounding the Attorney General's security detail has become a distraction from the issues that Missourians care most about," the statement read.

The statement, posted on Nixon's campaign website, urged Gov. Matt Blunt to follow suit and reimburse the state for similar expenses. Nixon and Blunt are almost certain to be their parties' candidates in next year's vote.