Congressman Dave Joyce (R-OH 14) has responded to a primary challenge from Ohio Rep. Matt Lynch (R-Bainbridge Twp.) by recycling Democrat talking points the Ohio Republican Party (ORP) slammed as “gutter politics” in 2012.

In an email accusing Lynch of opposing “the largest tax cut in the country in 2013″ because he voted against Governor John Kasich’s budget — which increased state spending and cut some taxes while hiking others — Joyce attacked “the astonishing issues” Lynch has had with his taxes since 1993.

“Northeast Ohioans deserve a representative that can at least manage his own budget before asking to oversee how their hard earned tax dollars are spent,” the Joyce campaign concluded.

The Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) leveled the same criticism against Lynch after his appointment to the Ohio House in 2012. While running for a full term later that year, Lynch explained that he fell behind on his taxes when caring for his first wife, who died of leukemia.

Lynch posted the following video to his campaign website in November 2012.

Bob Bennett, then-chairman of ORP, said in April 2012 that ODP “should be ashamed, and the people of Ohio should be outraged, by the comments made about Matt Lynch” regarding the exact tax problems Dave Joyce is now attacking.

“To think that someone who claims to be a leader would say such outrageous things about a man who was taking care of his terminally ill wife makes me sick to my stomach,” Bennett continued. “[ODP Chairman] Chris Redfern should immediately retract his statement and offer a sincere apology to Representative Lynch, his daughters and the people of the 98th House District.”

“Anything short of that will continue to demonstrate that the Ohio Democratic Party and its chairman know no bounds when it comes to gutter politics. All Ohioans should be heartsick over his reckless comments, which were hopefully made of out of pure ignorance,” the ORP chairman concluded.

Joyce is endorsed by ORP, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported on March 26 that Congressman Jim Jordan is the only Republican from Ohio’s U.S. House delegation who will not attend a Joyce fundraiser in DC next week.

Joyce’s campaign email also asserted that Lynch “Took Improper Tax Deductions” each year from 2007 to 2011; Lynch told Media Trackers that this was an oversight on an inherited rental property that ultimately resulted in late payments totaling several hundred dollars.

The hypocrisy of Joyce’s ORP-backed campaign is compounded by the fact that ORP Chairman Matt Borges has had major tax problems connected to the sale of his $575,000 home.

Although Joyce is part of the openly anti-conservative Republican Main Street Partnership — which is led by his friend Steve LaTourette — Joyce’s primary campaign materials insist he has a “proven record as a principled conservative.”

Joyce’s lifetime scores of 55 percent from FreedomWorks and 50 percent from Heritage Action have both improved since Lynch entered the race in February. Joyce has lifetime scores of 47 percent from Club for Growth and 50 percent from American for Prosperity.

Lynch has been endorsed by several local tea party groups, Ohio Right to Life, and FreedomWorks for America.

This story was originally published at Media Trackers.