The Maine Democratic Party filed a complaint Tuesday with the Maine Ethics Commission alleging that Republican Gov. Paul LePage has been using state resources for his re-election campaign in violation of state law.

Less than three hours later, the Maine Republican Party announced that it, too, had filed a complaint.

Republicans claimed that U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, LePage’s top opponent in the governor’s race, should be investigated for improperly using federal election funds to support his race for governor. The dueling complaints came just one day before LePage, Michaud and independent candidate Eliot Cutler were set to share a stage for the first debate of the 2014 race.

In a letter to the commission, the Democratic Party cited three instances in September in which Alex Willette, the LePage campaign’s spokesman, was seen entering or exiting a black SUV that the governor uses at taxpayer expense. The party submitted videos as evidence.

The Democratic Party said the presence of Willette, a campaign employee, is an indication that a state-owned vehicle is being used for nonstate purposes.

If the vehicle is being used for the campaign, the Democrats say, it should be considered a contribution and should be disclosed in any finance filings.

The complaint also noted that in March, when LePage’s re-election campaign did not yet have an office, it listed the governor’s office as a contact on campaign finance reports.

Finally, it referenced an Oct. 1 letter from LePage to Michaud in which the governor criticizes the congressman on energy issues, a major topic of debate in the campaign.

Democrats are also asking the ethics commission to investigate whether LePage’s re-election campaign was fundraising actively or organizing volunteers and whether donations ever were solicited by state employees.

“Gov. LePage is clearly campaigning on the taxpayer’s dime,” Maine Democratic Party Chairman Ben Grant said in a statement. “He’s blurred the line between engaging in the official business of our state and his own re-election efforts.”

The Republican Party’s complaint alleges that Michaud made about $10,000 in possibly illegal contributions from his federal campaign committee that “were clearly designed to support (his) state-level race for governor.”

The Republican Party said it has video footage of Michaud speaking at an event in October 2013 that was clearly a gubernatorial campaign event. Michaud, the Republicans claimed, had given $500 from his federal campaign fund to support the event around the same time.

The complaint against Michaud also questions contributions made to Equality Maine, an organization that has endorsed Michaud, and the purchase of a personal computer for the candidate.

The complaint says contributions from the federal fund were made long after Michaud announced he was running for governor and ended his congressional re-election bid.

“It appears that Congressman Michaud has been using his leftover federal money as a slush fund to illegally boost his bid for governor,” said Maine Republican Party executive director Jason Savage, who filed the complaint. “Mainers deserve answers on Rep. Michaud’s shady campaign slush fund and nobody should be above the law, not even career politician Michael Michaud.”

Politicians who hold office and seek re-election often benefit from their positions during campaigns, particularly in their ability to be in the news. Although laws exist to separate campaigning from governing, in practice it can be difficult to draw a clear line between the two.

Even if the ethics commission decides to investigate either complaint, there is no guarantee that it would reach any conclusions before Election Day, which is less than a month away.