An attorney for Republican congressional candidate Elise Stefanik is challenging some of GOP rival Matt Doheny’s Conservative Party and Independence Party nominating petitions, accusing the Doheny campaign of a pattern of illegality.

But a spokesman for the Doheny campaign says he believes his candidate’s petitions will stand up to scrutiny.

Attorney James Walsh of the Stefanik campaign said that “we filed objections to both the Conservative petitions (474) as well as the Independence Party petitions (438)” filed by Doheny for a chance at those parties’ lines on the ballot.

“In the coming days, we may move to litigation in order for a court of competent jurisdiction to review these questionable tactics and petitions,” Walsh said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.

“Unfortunately, after reviewing the petitions submitted and notarized by the Doheny campaign for the Independence and Conservative Party Lines, it became very clear that the Doheny campaign was more worried about inflating numbers and not about following the legal petitioning process. That is misleading to the voters, compromises the process, and reinforces a troublesome pattern of legal transgression. We also believe it will ultimately disqualify the Doheny campaign from the unqualified right to the Independence Party line,” Walsh said.

Writing for the Doheny campaign, David Catalfamo responded by saying, “The only fraudulent games played with this important process were by the Stefanik campaign when they knowingly signed the cover sheet of Independence petitions legally attesting that she submitted the required number of signatures to qualify for the ballot. The Stefanik petitions fell nearly 1,000 signatures short of the number required by law.”

Without explaining what he believes are the specific shortcomings in Doheny’s petitions, Walsh said in his statement that “The Doheny campaign is not unfamiliar with the petition process, and our belief is that in the rush to inflate numbers and gain access to the Independence and Conservative lines, the Doheny campaign played political – and potentially fraudulent - games with this important process.

“We took the process seriously with attention to detail, and with strict adherence to both the spirit and letter of the law,” Walsh said.

“We are confident that our petitions will withstand any legal challenge and Matt will be the Independence Party nominee,” Catalfamo said. “It’s sad that the Stefanik campaign would stoop to this level in a desperate attempt to garner some press.”