Rivals for Obama’s Senate Seat Keep Up Attacks

CHICAGO — The two candidates running for President Obama’s former Senate seat continued to attack each other on issues of character in their second debate here on Tuesday.

Alexi Giannoulias, the Democratic state treasurer, and RepresentativeMark Steven Kirk, a five-term Republican congressman, met in an hourlong debate moderated by George Stephanopoulos, the anchor of “Good Morning America.” The candidates sparred over their pasts before discussing immigration, jobs and corruption at the debate at the ABC studio in downtown Chicago.

The candidates are locked in a close race, according to polls, with two weeks left until Election Day. The campaign has been increasingly negative, with each candidate attacking the other’s background in television ads.

Mr. Giannoulias returned to an issue that arose in the first debate, repeatedly asking Mr. Kirk whether he had ever been shot at during his time in the Naval Reserve. Mr. Kirk has acknowledged that he has made misleading statements about his service.“Congressman, it’s a simple question, were you shot at or not?” Mr. Giannoulias said.

Mr. Kirk replied that Mr. Giannoulias had no right to criticize him because he had not served in the military.

“The ultimate irony is that a man who spends most of his campaign for the Senate criticizing my military record and yet he never served a day in uniform himself,” Mr. Kirk said.

Both candidates have faced questions about their pasts. Mr. Giannoulias has received criticism for his time as a senior loan officer at his family’s bank, which was seized by federal regulators this year. Reports have found that the bank made loans to people with connections to organized crime.

Mr. Kirk said that he had admitted to making mistakes while his opponent had not fully come clean about his problems.