Ken Eikenberry, a former state attorney general, has sent out a fund-raising letter for Supreme Court candidate Greg Canova that is critical of incumbent Justice Richard Sanders.

"We now know that the public cannot stand six more years of the incumbent," Eikenberry wrote. The two-time chairman of the state Republican Party said he endorsed Sanders in 1995 but has changed his mind.

"In 1995, Sanders ran as a conservative, attacked the 'liberal' legacy on the court and told voters he would be a 'voice' for victims," Eikenberry wrote. But Eikenberry wrote that Sanders' record in 2 1/2 years is of "an aggressive judicial activist who holds the mistaken, dangerous view that the Constitution prohibits tough sentencing and effective law enforcement."

"Sanders didn't tell us this agenda when he ran in 1995."

Eikenberry had already signed on as Canova's co-chairman. He hired Canova as a senior assistant attorney general 17 years ago. The letter warns potential donors that Canova will not win unless they contribute soon. Because there are only two announced candidates, the race could be decided in the September primary, he wrote.

Eikenberry mailed the letter to about 10,000 people who had supported his campaigns for attorney general and governor.