COLUMBUS - The Ohio Republican Party is asking House candidate Joe Dills to withdraw from the three-way Clermont County primary after Dills admitted to signing up for an Ashley Madison account in 2013.

“Mr. Dills crossed a line by joining this lewd and inappropriate website," party Chairman Jane Timken said in a statement Friday. "I call for his immediate withdrawal from the race. There is no place in our party for people that exercise such a gross lack of judgment.”

Dills disclosed Friday that he signed up for an account with the online dating and social networking service marketed to people who are married or in relationships to "connect with women for inappropriate relationships."

Dills, who was endorsed by the Clermont County Republican Party and Ohio Republican Party, said in a Facebook post on his campaign's website that it was a mistake to join the website. Dills, of Union Township, said he was single at the time and said he never used the site to actively meet with anyone.

"It was a moment of weakness that I deeply regret," Dills wrote. "I am, and always will be, embarrassed by that decision."

Dills is running in the Republican primary against former U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt and Dillon Blevins, a NRA-certified pistol instructor, in the Republican primary.

Dills, in his Facebook statement, said Schmidt and her political allies were using his former account against him "as a way to try and get me out of the race."

"I must express my disappointment that this campaign has devolved into such a state of personal attacks," Dills wrote.

Schmidt told The Enquirer that she was not involved in any attempt to smear Dills.

"It’s a cheap shot to say that I was involved in anything he may or may not have done," Schmidt said. "That’s not my style. I’m focused on my own race not his."

Hours after the post, The Enquirer learned of a January 2016 incident in which his wife, Nikea Dills, showed up at his workplace and accused him of cheating. Miami Township police responded to the scene. They advised Nikea to speak with her pastor and Joe to seek a trusted mediator. Joe Dills denied the cheating allegation, according to the police incident report.

"That incident was a complete misunderstanding," Dills told The Enquirer on Friday. "Like many couples, we have had our issues but have worked through them together and we are proud to have a strong and beautiful marriage today."

The move comes after Dills touted an endorsement from Ohio Value Voters, an organization that supports "faith, life, marriage, family and religious freedom." He posted about the endorsement on his Facebook page Jan. 17, but it has since been removed.

Dills' Friday morning post was accompanied by a statement from Dills’ wife Nikea in which she says the couple been supported by people close to them, including their pastors.

“Joe will be the first to tell you of the mistakes he has made and how God has transformed him,” Nikea Dills wrote. “I watched as God took a lost broken man and began to shape him and form him into the good Godly man with incredible morals and values that he is today.”

Dills is seeking the 65th District seat, which includes parts of Loveland and Milford and all of Newtonsville and Owensville, as well as Goshen, Miami, Stonelick, Union, and Wayne townships.

The winner of the GOP primary will face Democrat Alan Darnowsky in the Republican-heavy district. Ohio Value Voters board member Diane Stover declined to comment about the endorsement on Friday. The organization also supports Schmidt.

Dills won both the Clermont County Republican Party endorsement and Ohio Republican Party endorsement over Schmidt, who has the backing of House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford in Perry County.

Householder nominated Schmidt for the Ohio GOP endorsement, but the party's governing body chose to remove Householder's picks for two Clermont County races from the slate of endorsed candidates.

Then, Clermont County Republican Party Chairman Greg Simpson suggested Dills be endorsed instead. The governing body approved Dills' endorsement at a January meeting.

Reached Friday, Simpson declined to comment.

The seat is currently held by Rep. John Becker, R-Union Township, who is term-limited. Becker is running for Clermont County commissioner against Republicans Bonnie Batchler and John K. McGraw.

"This is another Clermont County GOP mess that could have been avoided," said Chris Hicks, who is running for Clermont County Commissioner against incumbent David Painter.