The DFL Party of Minnesota has filed a complaint with the Office of Administrative Hearings against Republican Rep. Greg Davids for "false political attacks" against a handful of freshman DFL legislators.

In the wake of a scandal that led a Minnesota Democrat to suddenly suspend his campaign for reelection, the state Supreme Court has ruled that political parties can put new candidates on the ballot after the primary election if their originally endorsed candidate properly withdraws from a race.

The DFL and its caucus units have spent more than $5.4 million during 2012, and have a combined $2.32 million cash on hand.

DFL Party officials say a House Republican campaign staffer posed as a Democrat in a recent letter to the editor in an effort to pull votes away from the DFL-backed candidate.

Julie Bunn was one of five DFL candidates who, along with the state DFL Party and the DFL Senate Caucus, were accused of colluding on independent expenditures made by the party. Bunn said she received the board's decision in a letter dated Oct. 16.

DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin, teaming up with the House DFL caucus and Erik Simonson's campaign, said Friday that they are petitioning the Minnesota Supreme Court to challenge the St. Louis County Auditor's move to deny a withdrawal affidavit from Kerry Gauthier and a certificate of nomination for Simonson.

Maguire filed an official challenge with the DFL Party of Minnesota on Wednesday, arguing that the March 24 endorsement process for newly-drawn Senate District 51 was flawed. Maguire says local party officers recently discovered that some delegate votes cast in favor of Maguire were not counted.

DFL Party Chair Ken Martin will be joined by a new finance director, Berrett Gall, coordinated campaign manager Mackenzie Taylor and communication staffers Kate Monson and Carlie Waibel.

Over the years, DFL campaigns for high-profile offices have had a tendency to blow past party endorsing conventions and end in contested primaries.

New DFL Party Chair Ken Martin said on Thursday that the Republican Party of Minnesota is trying to conduct a "full-on character assassination" of Gov. Mark Dayton instead of working to balance the state's still lingering $5 billion budget deficit.