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RICHMOND -- Republican Bob McDonnell's gubernatorial campaign protested earlier this year when an out-of-state Democratic organization bankrolled ads attacking the former attorney general's record.

Now the partisan tables have been turned, with a national Republican group financing television and radio ads attacking Democrat Creigh Deeds for spending proposals he sponsored in the General Assembly.

The Republican Governors Association paid for the ads through its Virginia-based political action committee, Virginia Common Sense PAC. The governors association pumped $2.5 million into the state political action committee this week.

The television ad depicts Deeds as a "big spender" and includes April footage of him telling an audience in Lexington: "In Richmond, we don't have earmarks, we have budget amendments. And I had the most budget amendments."

Deeds was referring to spending requests he submitted for the two-year budget that lawmakers passed in 2008. The ad notes that Deeds sponsored about $1 billion in spending requests, but makes no mention of how the money would have been spent.

"While Virginians are making the tough choices needed to make ends meet and balance their family budgets, Creigh Deeds is bragging about being the biggest spender in Richmond," said Republican Governors Association spokesman Mike Schrimpf.

The vast majority of Deeds' proposed spending -- more than $870 million over two years -- would have been used to fund the state's share of increasing teachers salaries to the national average, a major Deeds policy goal. Other proposals included increasing the monthly health insurance credit for retired state workers, expanding programs to crack down on child pornography and maintaining level funding for local police departments, according to legislative records.

"It's no surprise that Bob McDonnell would attack Creigh Deeds for trying to raise teacher salaries, since McDonnell repeatedly voted against Virginia's public schools," Deeds spokesman Jared Leopold said. "This ad is just another attempt to deflect attention from Bob McDonnell's support for George W. Bush's economic policies."

McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin said the Republican also wants to increase teachers salaries. But McDonnell "will make priorities within the budget, he will make the cuts that need to be made" and won't raise taxes, Martin said.

Martin said the RGA television ad "reveals that Creigh Deeds' philosophy has always been one of greater spending and higher taxes and not making the hard decisions that taxpayers want their leaders to make."

Only two states are electing governors this year, and the Virginia race is attracting national attention as Republicans look to rebound from recent defeats at the polls. The Democratic Governors Association earlier this year poured nearly $3 million into Virginia to finance television, radio and Internet ads attacking McDonnell, mostly for opposing Gov. Tim Kaine's plan to obtain $125 million in federal recovery funds for unemployment benefits.

"DGA spent over $3 million attacking Bob McDonnell this spring," Martin said. "RGA is now going to let the voters of Virginia know about the real record of Creigh Deeds. That seems absolutely fair to me."