CLEVELAND, Ohio - U.S. Rep. Bob Gibbs and the Ohio Republican Party have sent an unusual mailer in Gibbs' district attacking a little known, underfinanced Democratic candidate as "too liberal" for Ohio.

Democrats labeled the tactic as trickery whose real aim is to take down the stronger Democratic candidate in the 7th Congressional District primary, Navy veteran Ken Harbaugh.

What's going on here?

The flier from the Ohio Republican Party and Facebook advertisements from Gibbs, of Holmes County, attack Patrick Pikus, who is running against Harbaugh in the May primary for the chance to take on Gibbs in November.

The GOP and Gibbs' campaign said they were legitimately concerned about Pikus - even though he has a low profile and minimal campaign operations compared to Harbaugh.

Democrats view it as a last-ditch effort to influence the Democratic primary by increasing Pikus' profile, either to make Harbaugh spend money in the primary or to keep Gibbs from facing a tough challenger in the fall.

The mailer features Pikus' name numerous times in bright yellow against a drab, gray background. It ties him to "big labor" and "big government." Pikus said the ad featured old photos of him.

A photo of the GOP mailer featuring Patrick Pikus.

Gibbs' campaign ad on Facebook also features Pikus' name highlighted, in bright green against a blue background.

Dallas Gerber, a spokesman for Gibbs' campaign, wouldn't go into detail about the effort except to say Gibbs was worried about Pikus. Gerber wouldn't comment on Harbaugh at all.

Gerber said Gibbs was focused on the May 8 primary, in which Gibbs has two Republican opponents of his own - Patrick Quinn and Terry Robertson. But Gerber would not say why, if Gibbs was so focused on the GOP primary, he was spending money on the Democratic primary instead of his own.

Ohio Republican Party spokesman Blaine Kelly echoed much of Gerber's talking points. Kelly would not deny that the party was trying to pump up Pikus to damage Harbaugh.

"I'm not denying anything," Kelly said. "I'm saying Patrick Pikus is too liberal for the district."

Neither would disclose how much they paid for the ads or if they had spent any money attacking Harbaugh.

A screenshot of the ad from U.S. Rep. Bob Gibbs featuring Patrick Pikus.

Harbaugh said the advertisements were a blatant attempt at deception. They show Gibbs is out of touch with his constituents, he said.

"If you really trusted the voters, you wouldn't try to deceive them or manipulate them," Harbaugh said. "I put my ultimate faith in people and in voters. That's why the most this whole episode got from me was an eyeroll because I get to see the best of America in (running for office)."

Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper said he was surprised at the move.

"I've never seen anything in Ohio this desperate looking," Pepper said. "From a sitting congressman of all people. It shows that in their assessment, Ken Harbaugh is a real threat. He wouldn't do this unless he felt threatened by Ken Harbaugh."

Pikus was critical of Gibbs and the Ohio GOP possibly using him as a political prop. Like Pepper and Harbaugh, he criticized Gibbs for hiding in his own district, refusing to hold town halls or publicly debate.

"I resent being forced to respond to this type of misinformation and diversionary tactic," Pikus said. "And I'll go further. If Mr. Gibbs thinks I'm such an easy target, he should show up and debate me on the issues. He hasn't debated or attended any town halls this campaign. He can change that. If he thinks I'm a pushover, he can pick the time or the moderators as long as the public and press are invited. I'd welcome him to invite the Republican competitors and Mr. Harbaugh as well."

Pikus is far from the frontrunner in the primary against Harbaugh, let alone a threat to Gibbs in the general. He's a business manager at the Timken Co. Tim Timken, a reliable Republican donor, is the chairman and CEO of TimkenSteel, which was spun off of The Timken Company in 2014.

Harbaugh has been successful campaigning thus far, outraising Gibbs every quarter. The Navy veteran has more than $1.1 million on hand and endorsements from high-profile Democrats including U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and the entire Democratic congressional delegation. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - the campaign arm of congressional Democrats - listed Harbaugh as one of its "Red to Blue" candidates.

Attempting to choose one's opponent is not unheard of in American politics. U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri, fully admitted to doing as much in 2012 so she could face GOP U.S. Rep. Todd Akin.

"Using the guidance of my campaign staff and consultants, we came up with the idea for a 'dog whistle' ad, a message that was pitched in such a way that it would be heard only by a certain group of people," McCaskill wrote in a piece in Politico. "I told my team we needed to put Akin's uber-conservative bona fides in an ad--and then, using reverse psychology, tell voters not to vote for him. And we needed to run the hell out of that ad."

But typically the tactic of promoting your desired opponent is used in close, contested primaries.

Pikus' campaign is running on a shoestring budget. He reported $5,000 in his campaign account as of the last Federal Elections Commission filing deadline. His social media footprint is negligible.

Pepper said he expected Democrats to see through the "transparent and desperate act" by the GOP and Gibbs' campaign.

"My advice to Bob Gibbs would be to save your money and actually go out and do town hall meetings with your constituents," Pepper said. "If you're a sitting congressman, this is a low point. And the sloppy execution is downright embarrassing."

Update: A second mailer also went out to Democrats in the district. This one features Pikus as a giant with the U.S. Capitol under his arm in front of a massive crowd holding signs that say, "On Strike." The front says, "We can't afford Patrick Pikus." It was paid for by the GOP.