PHILADELPHIA — Candidates competing for election as attorney general Tuesday sketched contrasting scenarios of what they would do in the next four years if they were elected as Pennsylvania's top law-enforcement officer.

In a spirited but brief debate taped at the studios of WPVI-TV, incumbent Republican Tom Corbett promised "a continuation" of priorities he set during his first term — cracking down on corrupt public officials, Internet sex predators, drug dealers and scam artists who prey on senior citizens.

Democratic challenger John Morganelli, the Northampton County district attorney, noted that the GOP has held the attorney general's office for the entire 28 years since it became an elective office.

He vowed to fight for tougher laws against violent crime and more aggressive action against imported products that are unsafe.

"I think the office needs a transformation," Morganelli said.

Libertarian Party candidate Marakay Rogers said she would press for sending fewer nonviolent offenders to prison and abolishing the death penalty.

During Tuesday's half-hour debate, Corbett and Morganelli also renewed their finger-pointing over the ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in the Legislature.

Morganelli charged that Corbett has conflicted interests because of campaign contributions he accepted in his 2004 campaign from GOP legislative leaders who potentially could be charged. He also reiterated his belief that Corbett committed a serious error in not appointing an independent prosecutor to oversee the probe.

"I've never seen an investigation that been so mishandled from the outset," said Morganelli, 52, who is beginning his fifth term as Northampton County's top prosecutor.

Corbett, who has refused to accept contributions from legislators in his re-election campaign, said investigating allegations of public corruption are his responsibility as attorney general.

Morganelli, he said, cannot understand the complexities of such a large investigation. "He's never conducted an investigation like this," Corbett said.

Politically, the nearly 2-year-old investigation into the illegal use of public money and resources for political campaigns cuts both ways for Corbett, 59, a former U.S. attorney for Western Pennsylvania.

By far the most visible action of his first term, the probe has established Corbett as a prosecutor committed to cleaning up a Legislature that has been sullied by scandals in recent years.

But the only arrests so far have involved a dozen people connected to the House Democratic caucus.

While Corbett has said his investigators are looking at all four caucuses and that he anticipates more arrests, he said last month that none would be made until after the election because there was not enough time to present evidence to the grand jury — meaning the arrests of any Republicans would come only the voters have spoken.