Topeka ? Candidates in the Kansas attorney general’s race are announcing dueling endorsements as the election draws near.

Democrat Attorney General Steve Six says Thursday that he has earned the backing of the National Rifle Association.

The NRA gave Six an “A” rating and cited his support for gun rights, including the filing of a brief in the 2008 McDonald v. Chicago case which affirmed an individual’s right to bear arms.

Meanwhile, Six’s Republican challenger, Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, announced that former Kansas Bureau of Investigations Director Larry Welch has given him his endorsement and will be co-chairman of the campaign.

Welch served as KBI director from 1994 until retiring in June 2007. Before then, he spent 25 years with the FBI.