Election commission sides against Rep. Space

At a hearing before the Ohio Elections Commission Thursday, a three-person panel determined there is probable cause to believe an ad from the campaign of Rep. Zack Space (D-Ohio) contained false statements against Republican opponent Bob Gibbs. 

Gibbs filed a complaint before the commission after an attack ad from the Space campaign accused him of voting to give himself a pay raise as a member of the state legislature. 

The Space campaign is standing by the content of the ad. "Senator Bob Gibbs is engaged in a smoke-and-mirrors effort to try to distract Ohio voters from the fact that he voted for the largest tax increase in Ohio's history," Space campaign manager Danny Friedman said in a statement. 

The dispute now goes to the full election commission, which could make a decision by the end of today, according to the Columbus Dispatch. The commission doesn't have the power to force the ad off the air.  

The NRCC released a statement calling on the Space campaign to pull the ad off the air.