The Democratic Party of New Mexico has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in which it argues the Republican Campaign Committee of New Mexico, Freedom’s Watch and congressional candidate Darren White are illegally coordinating their advertising efforts.

The Democratic Party notes the ads are both created by the same company and even use the same picture of Heinrich in their ads. The ads both hit the air within days of each other and within days of the news that the National Republican Campaign Committee would pull much of their money out of the 1st Congressional District race.

According to the Democratic Party complaint, sent to the FEC on Oct. 16, Freedom’s Watch began airing the ad “Asked to Explain” on or about Oct. 14. The group reported to the FEC that it paid $10,000 to Stevens, Reed, Curcio & Potholm to create the ads on Oct. 3.

On October 14, the Republican Campaign Committee of New Mexico reported a $240,000 independent expenditure opposing Martin Heinrich. The purpose was a media buy with Stevens, Reed, Curcio & Potholm.

The Democratic Party alleges there is also illegal coordination between White and the New Mexico Republican Party. White serves on the executive committee of the New Mexico Republican Party.

From an Associated Press story on the subject:

A spokeswoman for the state Republican Party, Shira Rawlinson, said there was no impropriety and called the complaint a “baseless and desperate” political ploy.

Freedom’s Watch is a non-profit organization which has been airing ads nationwide in competitive U.S. House and Senate races. It is unclear where their funding comes from, but the non-profit was created by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. According to the New York Times, Adelson ranked third on the list of wealthiest Americans. He is also relatively new to his wealth.

“He got richer faster than anyone else in history,” said Peter W. Bernstein, co-author of “All the Money in the World,” a book about the people on the Forbes 400 list.

The Republican Campaign Committee of New Mexico is the PAC on behalf of the Republican Party of New Mexico. According to a study (pdf) of campaign spending in the 2006 race for the 1st Congressional seat between incumbent Republican Heather Wilson and Democratic challenger Patricia Madrid, the state Republican Party did not spend any money on TV.

The advertising firm itself is not without controversy. It is the same firm that created the infamous Swift Boat Veterans for Truth advertisements in the 2004 election. A partner, Greg Stevens, was also responsible for a TV ad which showed Michael Dukakis in a tank, which helped sink Dukakis’ presidential ambitions.

The ad “Asked to Explain” is available here and the ad “Can’t Trust” is available here. It is clear from the ads that, at the least, the same images were used.

This is also not the first time Democrats have reported Freedom’s Watch to the FEC. In April, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee filed a second complaint about Freedom’s Watch. The DCCC alleged that Freedom’s Watch ran “a political attack ad that directly and illegally advocates the defeat of a Democratic candidate and also for failing to disclose the names of the donors funding that ad.”

As a nonprofit, Freedom’s Watch doesn’t have to report their donors at the same frequency as political action committees. But it cannot also directly advocate for or against a certain candidate.