Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dina Titus' campaign has prepared a television ad that uses the circumstances surrounding an assault complaint against Republican Jim Gibbons to question his judgment, even though her official line remains that she does not feel it would be appropriate to comment on the incident.

"Gibbons talks about family values, but on a rainy night in Las Vegas, he's at a bar drinking, then walks an intoxicated woman to her car," states the ad, which was briefly and inadvertently posted to the Web site of the campaign's media production firm.

"We can't trust Jim Gibbons' judgment; we can't trust Jim Gibbons to be governor," the commercial ends as "Paid for by Friends of Dina Titus" appears with Titus' photo at the bottom of the screen.

Titus spokeswoman Hilarie Grey said the ad's posting was inadvertent and the campaign hasn't decided whether to use it. The ad was quickly taken off the Web site once Titus' camp learned of its posting Thursday evening.

"That's a piece in progress, a test ad," she said.

The ad the campaign meant to post began airing Thursday and refers to accusations that an illegal immigrant worked in Gibbons' household more than 10 years ago.

Gibbons has aired commercials accusing Titus of being soft on illegal immigrants by wanting to let them have driver's licenses. Titus has never expressed such a position.

Gibbons' camp expressed indignation at the unaired ad.

"Desperate candidates do desperate things," campaign manager Robert Uithoven said. "When they're wrong on the issues, they resort to character assassination. Voters think it's disgusting."

Grey wouldn't discuss the content of the ad, saying it wasn't supposed to be seen.

The Titus draft ad doesn't address the central issue of the assault complaint scandal: The woman he was walking to her car would, later that night, call 911 to claim Gibbons forced her against the wall of a parking garage and threatened her after a night of unwanted advances over drinks.

Gibbons denies the allegation but acknowledges he had drinks at a restaurant bar with her and several others. He also acknowledges walking her part of the way to her car, even though he later told police she "might have been tipsy."

Gibbons has since said he wasn't qualified to judge if she was too drunk to drive. The woman, Chrissy Mazzeo, has since said she wasn't drunk.

The Mazzeo scandal previously was being used politically mostly by the Republicans.

The state Republican Party on Thursday released a statement with the headline, "Dirty Politics 101: How Dina Titus Uses Unfounded Personal Smears to Win Elections." It contends Titus is behind the frenzy surrounding the scandal, based on a third-hand report from a source who didn't find the speaker credible and on a few campaign contributions.

David Groover, a private investigator for Gibbons, said in a statement that he spoke to Hal Collins, a California attorney who was giving Mazzeo legal advice. Groover said Collins told him Titus tried to reach him but he didn't call back.

Collins also said Gibbons told Mazzeo, "(Expletive) the camera," when she pointed out surveillance cameras overhead in the parking garage, and, "You are (expletive)-ed" when Mazzeo ran away, according to Groover. He concluded his report by stating he didn't find Collins believable.

Collins told the Review-Journal he never told Groover that Titus or any political person tried to contact him. Titus has denied having contact with anyone associated with Mazzeo; and Mazzeo, who is not registered to vote, has denied being politically motivated or connected.

The Republican news release states: "When Collins would not cooperate with the Titus political smear machine, Mazzeo's case was taken, pro bono, by a firm of diehard Titus supporters."

Mazzeo's chief counsel is prominent Las Vegas criminal defense attorney Richard Wright, who's registered nonpartisan and last year gave $500 to Titus' campaign. Wright's partner Karen Winckler gave Titus $1,000, as did Winckler's husband. The Wincklers were called "Titus diehards" in a Review-Journal opinion column.

Winckler, Wright and Titus have denied any coordination or contact since Mazzeo came to the firm. Wright said Mazzeo was referred to him by Collins, who was looking for a Las Vegas lawyer for her.

Republican Party Chairman Paul Adams, a former prosecutor and defense lawyer, defended the statement's claims, saying, "Dina Titus supporters are keeping this story alive, and not because they think there's any merit to it, but because they're trying to smear Jim Gibbons."

Asked how he could justify the statement's claim that it was Titus herself using the so-called smears, he said, "Dina Titus, the Dina Titus campaign, Dina Titus supporters -- they're all Dina Titus."

Grey called the assertions "ridiculous. They keep saying we had something to do with it when we did not. A lot of attorneys have contributed to Dina Titus' campaign, and probably attorneys have also given to Jim Gibbons' campaign."

The state's Democrats have stayed mum on the Mazzeo scandal since sending a press release to supporters shortly after the Review-Journal first reported the assault complaint on Oct. 15. They have preferred to play up "Nannygate."

"I think they're two different kinds of stories," Democratic spokeswoman Kirsten Searer said of the two scandals.

Nannygate was an issue of hypocrisy, she said, while the Mazzeo story "isn't just about an election; it's about two families going through a very tough time."