BREAKING::Aftab Pureval's campaign fined $100 for paying photographer from wrong account

A resignation and two firings have cast a pall on the campaign of Democratic congressional candidate Aftab Pureval six days before the election.

His campaign manager Sarah Topy resigned late Tuesday night and two staffers were fired.

Now some see his challenge to Republican Congressman Steve Chabot, R-Westwood, in jeopardy. That could affect everything from which party controls the U.S. House to who is elected Ohio governor.

Pureval wouldn't say why the staffers departed other than "new information" came to light.

"Yesterday, I learned new information that led me to believe that members of my staff may not have lived up to that standard," Pureval said in a statement. "We have dismissed those staff members. I do not want this issue to be a distraction in the final days, and therefore have accepted the resignation of my campaign manager."

In an interview with The Enquirer, Pureval gave little additional information. He wouldn't say what the new information was. He also wouldn't reveal the identity of the two staffers.

The news broke of the staff shakeup on the eve of a hearing Thursday in front of the Ohio Elections Commission about whether Pureval improperly spent money from his local election campaign fund for his federal campaign.

The campaign came under a bigger cloud of suspicion with allegations a worker onPureval's campaign posed as a Chabot campaign worker and infiltrated his campaign.

"While the actions of a few are inappropriate, we're proud of the campaign we've run," Pureval said yesterday.

When asked who will manage the campaign in the final week, Pureval said local political consultant Jens Sutmoller will serve as chief of staff. Topy and Sutmoller didn't respond to messages seeking comment.

This could bePureval's 'death knell'

Pureval's campaign had been on the ropes for a while in the eyes of some national political prognosticators. Tuesday's news might spell the end of Pureval's chances, said Ken Rudin, host of the Political Junkie podcast and former political editor for National Public Radio.

"Six days before the election, perhaps if he were an incumbent and had other things on his resume, he could withstand that," Rudin said. "Given he was in a downward trend to begin with, this could be the death knell."

The news of the resignations didn't change the opinion of Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball, about the race. He was one of many who downgraded Pureval's chances more than a month ago after the campaign finance questions arose.

Kondik said Topy's resignation just furthers Pureval's slide.

"It’s not a good look, but I also don’t think it is an earth-shattering development," Kondik said. "The race had seemed to be moving toward Chabot before this happened."

Democrats had high hopes two months ago for Pureval. Many political experts, Kondik included, saw the race as a toss-up at the time. That's quite a feat given how conservative Chabot's district is and how established Chabot is after more than two decades in office.

But news broke in September that Pureval paid for a congressional poll using money from his local clerk of courts account. A local election worker was disciplined for redacting information on campaign checks at Topy's request.

Democratic leaders, at least publicly, aren't throwing in the towel on Ohio's 1st Congressional District.

Hamilton County Democratic Co-Chairwoman Connie Pillich said the race is still competitive.

"I can tell you I’m still very confident Aftab is the best candidate we’ve ever had for this race," Pillich said. "And we’ve had some pretty good candidates."

The national Democratic Party released a statement saying they haven't given up on Pureval.

“The race for Ohio’s 1st Congressional District remains highly competitive," said Amanda Sherman, spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, in a statement. "We believe on November 6th voters will choose Aftab Pureval, whose focus is on fighting for affordable health care for the people of Southwestern Ohio, rather than Steve Chabot, whose priority is enriching himself and powerful special interests."

Will this affect other races?

Republicans see Pureval's troubles as not only assuring a Chabot victory, but also helping their candidates in the other races, including the close gubernatorial race between Republican Mike DeWine and Democrat Rich Cordray.

"When something like this happens so close to the election, his supporters are probably starting to walk away from him," Jane Timken, chairwoman of the Ohio Republican Party told The Enquirer. "That might mean fewer supporters for the other Democrats on the ticket."

Rudin isn't so sure. He sees the gubernatorial race, as close as it is, not being impacted much by Pureval's gaffes.

But Pureval's implosion does take away the Democrats best chance in Ohio of gaining a congressional seat, he said.

​​​​​​More:1st Congressional District debate: Steve Chabot and Aftab Pureval pledge to not insult each other before insulting each other

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You can read Pureval's entire statement here:

“Our campaign holds itself to the highest standards of professionalism and accountability. Yesterday I learned new information that led me to believe that members of my staff may not have lived up to that standard. We have dismissed those staff members. I do not want this issue to be a distraction in the final days, and therefore have accepted the resignation of my campaign manager.