But either the words the GOP and its candidate are using come from the same script - or like minds think alike.

Last week, Swallow's camp started airing ads accusing the incumbent of supporting partial-birth abortion and siding with national Democrats like New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy. At the same time, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) paid for a telephone call campaign to Utah voters.

"Instead of supporting Utah values, Jim Matheson has voted to allow partial-birth abortions and Jim Matheson has flip-flopped on tax cuts for Utah's hard-working families," a man says in the recorded message. "Jim Matheson doesn't represent or support Utah values."

Matheson counters Swallow's and the committee's attacks as "misrepresentations." The congressman notes he voted for the federal Partial Birth Abortion Act last year - and Swallow pledged not to criticize him for "voting the right way."

"Go ahead and talk about my record, but don't resort to distortions," Matheson said Monday. "This is a desperation effort to do this kind of campaigning."

New campaign finance reform laws prohibit the national parties from spending unregulated and unreported "soft" money on negative "issue advocacy" advertising. But groups are allowed to set up independent organizations like the NRCC to spend unlimited "hard" dollars on "independent expenditures" or "advocacy" ads for one candidate or another. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, or "McCain-Feingold" as it is known, also blocks coordination between candidate campaign offices and the independent organizations.

The voice on the phone message is quick to note the NRCC paid for the message and the call "was not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee."

Swallow said Monday: "I had nothing to do with that call. By law, I can't know about it."

But Matheson wonders at the coincidence. "I'll leave those questions to you," he told reporters.

Brigham Young University political science professor Kelly Patterson figures both Swallow and the national Republicans have concluded abortion is an issue that will sway voters in Utah's 2nd Congressional District. "Oftentimes, the messages do look vaguely similar," Patterson said. "The party has done some polling. They obviously haven't written off the district."

NRCC spokesman Bo Harmon declined to detail the committee's strategy for Utah's 2nd Congressional District. "We don't talk about any of our October strategy, how much money is spent or where," Harmon said.

Two years ago, Swallow complained of being abandoned by the national Republican Party, leaving him on his own until the last two weeks of the 2002 campaign for the 2nd Congressional District seat. A $250,000 infusion from the national party was not enough to beat Matheson; Swallow lost by about 1,600 votes.

This year, if Swallow loses, it won't be because of a lack of money. The NRCC probably will spend nearly $1 million on advertising for Swallow's campaign to unseat Matheson.

One ad, paid for and produced by the NRCC, repeats 2-year-old footage of Swallow walking in a White House colonnade with President Bush and emphasizes his loyalty to the Republican Party. A second commercial, produced by the Swallow campaign, uses the same White House footage as well as shots of Swallow at Utah's Capitol and walking through a field of flags with his family.

The NRCC paid $221,000 to air its Swallow ads on KSL, Channel 5, through the Nov. 2 election. With ads running on the other three major local broadcast stations, the committee will have spent about $800,000 for Swallow.