FRANKFORT — Kentucky Republican Party Chairman Steve Robertson called on Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Jack Conway on Tuesday to reimburse the state for his salary as attorney general when he is out-of-state raising campaign funds.

Robertson, at a news conference at party headquarters, claimed Conway will be out of Kentucky 20 of the next 30 days.

"Over the next few weeks, Kentuckians are not going to see a lot of Jack," Robertson said. "Can Kentuckians afford being without an attorney general?"

He dubbed Conway's fund-raising trips the "Don't Stop Spending Tour 2010."

Allison Haley, Conway's campaign press secretary, responded by saying the Conway "is working to protect Kentucky families 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

She said Conway "is proud of his record of protecting our children from online predators and cracking down on drug dealers as attorney general" and that Republican U.S. Senate nominee Rand Paul "is trying to distract from the fact that he believes drug abuse in Kentucky is not a 'real pressing issue' and would handcuff law enforcement in the fight against drugs."

Robertson said Conway was in Seattle on Sunday and in San Francisco on Monday night. Other cities Conway will visit, he said, include New York; Boston; Hartford, Conn.; Los Angeles; Palm Beach, Calif.; Miami; Dallas; and Washington, D.C.

Conway should return "his taxpayer-funded salary while he's out raking in campaign cash from left-wing donors from coast to coast," Robertson said.