AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) – Two Candidates vying for the Republican nomination in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District are sparring over the ties one has to a registered foreign agent of the government of Saudi Arabia.

The Bangor Daily News reported Saturday that The Intercept news site published an article on a Maine operative who is a registered agent for Saudi Arabia and the owner of a Republican consulting firm that employs former state Rep. Dale Crafts’ campaign manager.

One of Crafts’ opponents in Tuesday’s primary, former state Sen. Eric Brakey, called on Crafts to sever ties with the firm. Keith Herrick, Crafts’ campaign manager, called it a ‘desperate attack.”