Rep. Joe Schwarz's congressional campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday, alleging Republican challenger Tim Walberg violated campaign finance laws by coordinating with a pro-business group.

Campaign officials with Schwarz, R-Mich., asserted Walberg's team used the same pollster employed by the Washington-based Club for Growth, calling the relationship "in clear violation of FEC regulations prohibiting coordinated expenditures" between a campaign and nonprofit political groups called 527s.

"You have to play by the rules. There are rules and you have to play by them, and they are very clear," Schwarz said in an interview. "And when you're dealing with large sums of money at a campaign at this level, it is paramount that you follow the rules, that you follow the law."

Walberg's campaign manager Joe Wicks called the complaint "ridiculous" and said Schwarz's wrong stances on social and economic issues forced him "to invent an issue."

"The Schwarz campaign has obviously figured out that they are in desperate shape and now they are abusing the legal system in a desperate attempt to save his political career, which is on life support," said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey.

Toomey said there was "not a shred of truth" of any wrongdoing.

Under federal law, the Schwarz campaign would need to show specific evidence of coordination beyond the use of the same vendors by his opponent's campaign and the 527 group. The statute considers whether the outside firm had access to information about the campaign's strategy and activities and used the information to aid the campaign.

The allegations came less than three weeks before the Aug. 8 primary in southern Michigan's 7th District. Walberg, a former state representative from Tipton, has questioned whether Schwarz's moderate stances on some social issues properly represent conservatives in the Republican-leaning district.

Schwarz, of Battle Creek, won the GOP primary in 2004 to succeed former Rep. Nick Smith, R-Addison, with 28 percent of the vote, defeating Walberg and five other conservatives. In a one-on-one matchup, Walberg has tried to unite conservatives against Schwarz while the congressman has received endorsements and help from GOP leaders such as President Bush and Arizona Sen. John McCain.

In the complaint, Schwarz's campaign cited a Walberg news release from April indicating the campaign had hired Adam Geller, founder of New Jersey-based National Research Inc. The company conducted a poll by the Club for Growth in the Rhode Island Senate primary, according to a November 2005 news release by the organization.

They also note that Geller is a former president of New Jersey-based Jamestown Associates, a media firm that has served as a paid consultant for Walberg on media strategy and purchasing.

Messages were left with National Research and Jamestown Associates.

Amended campaign finance records filed July 15 show Walberg's campaign paid National Research $17,000 on April 20 for polling, while there was no listing of any payments to Jamestown Associates between April and the end of June.

The original version of the finance records, filed July 14, included the National Research payment but also listed $78,190.20 in disbursements to Jamestown Associates for television, radio and campaign photos and literature.

Schwarz's campaign said in the letter the expenditures were not included "to give a false impression of funds available" in the campaign. Most recent finance records have shown Schwarz and Walberg with nearly the same amount of money available for the final weeks.

Wicks said the campaign would be filing an amended report to reflect the Jamestown expenditures.

Records filed in April show Walberg paid Jamestown Associates $21,860 between early January and mid-March for consulting fees, radio ads and production and mailers. Walberg's campaign did not list any expenditures to National Research during that period.

Walberg's campaign also paid the Club for Growth $575 for poll results on Feb. 7.

The Club for Growth paid National Research $27,500 on Nov. 28, 2005, for polling, according to records filed by the organization.