Ohio Republican Senate candidate Josh Mandel says he wouldn't have backed auto bailout

CLEVELAND - Republican Josh Mandel who's running for Ohio's U.S. Senate seat, is making it clear that he wouldn't have supported the auto bailout.

Mandel and incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown faced off for the first time at a lively and sometimes raucous debate Monday in Cleveland. Both candidates addressed a question about how the auto bailout has affected Ohio.

Until now, Mandel has repeatedly refused to say whether he would have supported the bailout. But he made it clear Monday that while he supports policies that help the auto industry, he would not have backed the bailout.

He says it cost too many nonunion employees at Delphi Corp. their pensions.

Brown has made his backing of the auto bailout a big part of his campaign.