HOOVER, Alabama -- Alabama Republican Party Chairman Bill Armistead this morning accused Democratic chief justice candidate Bob Vance of failing to disclose a 2008 contribution to Barack Obama.

Armistead said he is filing a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission charging that Vance broke the law. Armistead said Vance's judicial campaign committee in 2008 gave $2,000 to Obama, then a U.S. senator, and failed to report it to the FEC.

Vance's campaign filings with the Alabama Secretary of State reported the $2,000 donation to the Obama Victory Fund on June 16, 2008.

But Armistead said the campaign was also required to register with the FEC once it became a federal committee and report all financial activities. Armistead said Vance did not do that.

"The question is, did Robert Vance not know the law or did he ignore it? Both are unacceptable for a man seeking to be Alabama's chief justice," Armistead said.

According to the FEC a political committee unconnected to a federal candidate is required to register with the FEC once its federal contributions or expenditures exceed $1,000 in a calendar year. The Birmingham News could find no record of Vance filing a federal committee.

Vance is a Jefferson County circuit judge. He faces Republican Roy Moore in the Nov. 6 election for chief justice. Vance's wife, Joyce White Vance, was appointed by President Obama as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama.

Armistead called the press conference this morning at the Republican Party headquarters in Hoover to question the donation.

Reached by telephone this morning, Vance said his understanding was the donation was disclosed properly.

"Their desperation is showing," Vance said.

Vance accused Republicans of trying to throw "mud" to distract voters from the real issues facing the court system.

"This is the kind of sleaze that made me enter the race ... They want to be running against the president. I'm interested in the real issues," Vance said.

Asked if the purpose of the day's press conference was to try to tie Vance to Obama Armistead replied, "I'm not tying him to Obama, he's tied himself to Obama."

"What are the values of Bob Vance and Joyce White Vance? Do they line up more with Alabama values or do they line up more with Barack Obama's values?" Armistead said.

A statement released by the Vance campaign after the press conference said, "Bill Armistead and Roy Moore are trying to paint over their own ethically challenged records. One was removed from office for refusing to follow the law. The other drove to his press conference in an illegally donated campaign car."

The statement referenced the Alabama Republican Party's failure to report a car donation to the FEC for several months. Armistead, who drives the car, has described the delay as a mistake caused by miscommunication.

Asked at the press conference about the party's delay in reporting the car to the FEC, Armistead replied, "It's not the same thing."

The Alabama Court of the Judiciary removed Moore from office in 2003 for failing to comply with a federal judge's order to remove a 5,200-pound Ten Commandments monument from the lobby of the Alabama Judicial Building

Updated at 3:45 p.m. with additional details.