COLUMBUS, Ohio -- State Treasurer Josh Mandel prides himself on not using taxpayer dollars to pay for his travel around Ohio. The costs are picked up by his state treasurer campaign.

But some of Mandel’s foes pounced Tuesday on reports that Mandel was involved in an accident while traveling in Northwest Ohio in March. He was riding in a vehicle owned by the campaign from his bid for the U.S. Senate, months after the November 2012 election. Mandel lost that election to Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.

Under federal campaign finance laws, property owned by the Senate campaign, in this case a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee, cannot be used for personal use. Nor can it be used by another campaign.

And the Ohio Democratic Party was quick to point that out.

Under the subject line “Mandel's Perpetual Senate Campaign Rolls on After Loss,” the Ohio Democratic Party on Tuesday sent out an email about the crash, citing a report from Associated Press that mentioned the accident and noting the federal law.

And EMILY’s List, an organization that advocates for women who are candidates for higher office, fired off its own blast. It has, by the way, endorsed Mandel’s likely Democratic opponent for next November, Rep. Connie Pillich of Cincinnati.

“We’ve seen this before and we’ll see it again – Josh Mandel’s number one priority is himself, not Ohio families,” the group said. “This is just one more reason for the Ohio voters who rejected him in 2012 to send him packing for good.”

Mandel's campaign pushed back.

"While many public officials use tax dollars to travel around the state, Treasurer Mandel is saving Ohioans thousands of dollars by not using a penny of taxpayer money," campaign spokeswoman Rebecca Wasserstein said. "This is yet another example of Josh Mandel walking the walk as a fiscal conservative and leader with integrity."

The vehicle was rented by one campaign from the other, Wasserstein said, adding that "both state and federal campaign finance experts found the car rental to be proper and legal."

Campaign expense reports filed with the Ohio secretary of state show that Mandel’s treasurer campaign did pay the Senate campaign $1,000 under the heading of auto rental on June 30.

But that was the only listing for the first half of 2013 as an expense for auto rental. And it was made three and one-half months after the accident occurred.

The accident occurred late in the evening on Interstate 75 in southern Wood County, south of Bowling Green, according to an Ohio State Highway Patrol report.

The Jeep spun out on an icy road, hitting the cement median barrier. It was snowing heavily at the time, the report said.

Mandel was a passenger in the Jeep, which was driven by a campaign staffer. He complained of sore ribs, but declined treatment.