JOHNSTON, Iowa – Iowa gubernatorial candidates, U.S. Representative Jim Nussle (R) and Secretary of State Chet Culver (D), may agree on a few issues, but not on whether to raise the state’s current 36 cents per pack cigarette excise tax.

According to the Associated Press, the two candidates appeared on a live debate last Thursday and squared off on issues such as healthcare, stem cell research and the cigarette excise tax.

“Nussle, a Republican, opposes a cigarette tax, saying the money generated from the tax is not spent on healthcare,” notes the AP, adding that Culver said he would “make it a priority to increase the [cigarette excise] tax.”

Iowa’s outgoing Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) supports raising the state’s cigarette excise tax by 80 cents per pack. Vilsack told the Quad-City Times in January that boosting the state’s current cigarette excise tax would “help save lives and help small businesses afford catastrophic healthcare coverage.”