Toledo Blade – When the Josh Mandel campaign returned $105,000 last month to donors who had come under FBI scrutiny, the campaign was left with political egg on its face.

But should the Mandel campaign have refused the donations in the first place — or at least questioned the donors to find out whether the contributions were completely legal?

Yes, say Democrats, who are busy trying to define the Republican state treasurer as “a politician we can’t trust.”

No, say Republicans and several campaign-finance-law experts contacted by The Blade, who said campaigns can’t be expected to know where donors get their money or to level accusations without good evidence.

Mr. Mandel is running against incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is seeking a second term. The race is viewed nationally as a toss-up, in part because of Mr. Mandel’s success in raising campaign cash.