SALEM, Ore. (AP) - The hard-fought battle for an open congressional seat has taken a nasty turn.
     
Kevin Mannix accuses fellow pro-life Republican Mike Erickson of impregnating a young woman in 2000, then dropping her off at a clinic to have an abortion.
     
Erickson's campaign spokesman emphatically denied the allegation, calling it a desperate smear by Mannix, who has lagged far behind Erickson in fundraising.
     
Mannix airs the accusation in a letter sent to the homes of 5th District Republicans who have yet to cast their ballots in advance of next Tuesday's primary.
     
The letter contains no complete names or evidence.
     
It cites a 2006 e-mail purportedly written by someone identified as "Kristi," who says she is a friend of the woman allegedly impregnated by Erickson.
     
The e-mail, which Mannix included with his letter, also accused Erickson of having wild parties involving cocaine use on his house boat.
     
Erickson campaign spokesman Cary Evans says Mannix mailed the false allegations a week before the election "because he knows he is losing."
     
Mannix and Erickson are running for the Republican nomination in hopes of filling the seat being vacated by Democrat Darlene Hooley.
     
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)