Jim Fitzgerald

Independent state senate candidate Jim Fitzgerald accused incumbent Sen. Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) of wanting to have it both ways, running as a Republican but appearing on slate mailers for Democratic and independent voters.

"I wonder if John McCain would have let him speak at the RNC if he knew that Abel would be paying for flyers that tell voters to vote for Barack Obama," said Fitzgerald, a retired UPS worker who is self-financing his campaign, in a press release. "I wonder if the Republican Party would have contributed over $50,000 to Abel's campaign if they knew that he was going to pay $12,000 to appear on literature that promotes the Democratic ticket."

Despite not having any Democratic general election opponent - or, for that matter, leftover bills from a bruising primary - State Sen. Abel Maldonado is still collecting thousands in campaign contributions.

Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) reported $8,000 in donations late last week, though he's running for a second term against only third-party competition.