Last week, it seemed like civil rights lawyer Ellen Simon might be the Democrat’s best hope against Rep. Rick Renzi (R). Renzi’s most formidable opponent had been Navajo Indian Jack Jackson Jr. (D), but he dropped out of the race in March due to a lack of funds. Since then, Democrats have almost given up on the seat. Senatorial candidate Jim Pederson (D) even told The Hill that Renzi has “done a pretty good job.”

Last week, Simon kicked off her campaign. Democrats started to get excited about her last Tuesday, when Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) suggested that she was a real threat. McCain, who recently started fundraising for Renzi, warned that Simon was “the former president of the ACLU and has pledged to spend millions of her own dollars to defeat Rick.”

But Simon’s primary competitor, liberal talk show host Mike Caccioppoli, wants Democratic voters to know that there’s more to his opponent than meets the eye. He sent out a press release revealing that Simon’s husband, Blaine Tanner, contributed to the National Republican Congressional Committee in 2003. A visitor to his blog, Simon’s husband’s ex-wife, has added to the accusations. Pamela Tanner claims that Simon ignores her stepchildren and has helped Tanner’s ex-husband, avoid child support. This article from the Toronto Star (Ms. Tanner lives in Canada), seems to support her allegations. The paper wrote on the subject numerous times; the other articles, including one in which Mr. Tanner is called “one of Canada’s worst deadbeat dads,” can be purchased here. Simon has yet to respond.