New Jersey election law officials ruled Monday that Republican Jack Ciattarelli can spend his own money to sue his opponent Democrat Mikie Sherrill over allegations of defamation without running afoul of the state’s campaign finance law.

The ruling by the New Jersey Election Law Commission gives Ciattarelli the green light to file his suit this week ahead of Election Day on Nov. 4.

Ciattarelli’s campaign attorney, Mark Sheridan, attended the hearing Monday and addressed the commission, saying Ciattarelli had “a relatively straightforward request.”

“Mr. Ciattarelli  believes that he was defamed during the gubernatorial debate. He seeks to pursue that claim for defamation against Mikie Sherrill,” Sheridan said. “He does not intend to use any campaign funds or any matching funds. It’s solely his own funds.”

The vote was unanimous by the commission's four members, and Ciattarelli’s attorney thanked them following the ruling.

It’s the latest flashpoint in what has turned into a heated race for the state’s next governor. Ciattarelli’s threat to sue stems from remarks Sherrill made about his business background during an Oct. 8 debate between the two candidates.

Ciattarelli, a former state assemblymember, founded and ran a medical publishing company before he ran for elected office. Sherrill accused the company, Galen Publishing, which he sold for more than $12 million in 2017, of publishing “opioid propaganda” that contributed to the opioid crisis in New Jersey.

“You killed tens of thousands of people,” Sherrill told Ciattarelli on the debate stage.

His company produced continuing education materials for the medical industry, which critics said downplayed the dangers of opiates, according to NJ.com.

“Families across the state deserve to know more about that,” Sherrill said.

“Shame on you,” Ciattarelli responded to the accusation, adding that he was proud of his business career.

The two candidates have been locked in a tight race as Election Day approaches. While most polls have showed Sherrill leading throughout her campaign, her lead has declined from a high watermark of 20 points at the beginning of the summer to roughly five points in recent weeks. Ciattarelli’s campaign has said its own internal polling shows the candidates neck-and-neck.

Polls also show issues like housing affordability and high electric bills are top on voters' minds. But the contest has been dominated in recent weeks by personal attacks.

Controversy arose in September when Sherrill’s personal information — including her Social Security number and family’s home addresses — was released in error to a Ciattarelli ally through a public records request. Other documents have raised questions about Sherrill’s record at the U.S. Naval Academy, forcing her to deny any involvement in a major cheating scandal at the time she graduated from the academy in 1994.

In the days following the debate, Ciattarelli’s campaign said it planned to file a defamation lawsuit against Sherrill over her comments about his business record. It’s the third time the Republican has threatened to sue Sherrill during the race.

The first came after the Democratic congresswoman said Ciattarelli intends to raise New Jersey’s sales tax to 10% if elected. The second followed Sherrill’s claims that Ciattarelli’s campaign played a role in the erroneous release of her personal information. But Ciattarelli has yet to follow through and file complaints over those matters.

Sheridan, Ciattarelli’s attorney, wrote to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Division on Oct. 15 seeking an opinion on whether Ciattarelli would be in violation of campaign finance laws if he spent above a $25,000 cap in personal funds to sue Sherrill. Gothamist obtained a copy of Sheridan’s letter to the agency.

The Republican candidate's attorney said the campaign plans to hire outside attorneys to handle the lawsuit and the cost will exceed the $25,000 limit under state election law.

Sherrill’s campaign has not backed down from the accusations she made at the debate. In an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer's editorial board this month, she called Ciattarelli “a total baby” for threatening to sue her over the comments. Her campaign has also launched the website OpioidJack.com with information about Ciattarelli’s business history.

The Sherrill and Ciattarelli campaigns did not respond to requests for comment on the commission’s decision Monday.