Jack Conway (left) and Rand Paul participate in a Kentucky Senate debate. | REUTERS Paul won't shake Conway's hand

The Kentucky Senate fight reached a new low Sunday night, with Republican Rand Paul calling Democrat Jack Conway a “disgrace” and refusing to shake his hand at a debate in Louisville.

Much of the debate centered around a new Conway ad attacking Paul over a GQ story alleging Paul, while in college, belonged to a group that tied up a woman and forced her to bow down to “Aqua Buddha.”


Paul has denied the story, based on anonymous sources, but that hasn’t stopped Conway from referencing it on the campaign trail and in the new ad.

During the debate, Conway said Paul “tied a woman up and asked her to worship a false idol.”

"Values matter," Conway said. "Why did he freely join a group known for mocking or making fun of people of faith? And secondly, when is it ever a good idea to tie up a woman and ask her to kneel before a false idol called Aqua Buddha?"

In response, Paul asked, “Jack, have you no decency? Have you no shame?”

“You demean the state of Kentucky. You embarrass yourself,” Paul said, announcing he wouldn’t shake hands with his opponent.

"You know how we know when you're lying? Your lips are moving,” the Republican said. “You're accusing me of crimes. Do you know nothing about the process? You're going to stand there and accuse me of a crime from 30 years ago from some anonymous source? How ridiculous are you? You embarrass this race.”

Paul contended that the story was out of bounds, and questioned its credibility. “Don't make up stuff about me from college that you think you've read on the Internet blogs,” the Republican said. “Grow up.”

“It wasn't from the Internet blog,” the Democrat declared. "It was on CBS News, it's been in POLITICO, the Lexington Herald-Leader."

Conway later refused to answer whether he thought Paul was a “good Christian” after one of the moderators asked.

A CN2/Braun Research poll recently showed Paul up only 3 percentage points, 43 percent to 40 percent, but a Rasmussen survey showed the Republican leading by 11 percentage points.