ELLSWORTH — A defeated Democratic candidate for the Maine state senate is suing a Virginia political action committee and other groups for libel over ads that ran before the November election.

The suit filed last month by James Schatz of Blue Hill claims the Republican State Leadership Committee of Alexandria, Va., libeled him in print and television advertisements days before the November election.

The Republican Committee’s Adam Temple says it is not unusual for a losing candidate to sue. His organization views the suit as a nuisance complaint and hopes it will be dismissed.

But Schatz’s attorney, Barry Mills, tells the Bangor Daily News the suit is an effort to fight back against what he calls anonymous, out-of-state spending on Maine’s elections.