BEDMINSTER, N.J. -- Having lived in the United States for nearly 30 years, Zaheer Jan thought his credentials as an American were beyond question.

He helped design a massive pipeline project to bring Alaskan natural gas to the Midwest. He rallied neighborhood residents against a disruptive highway project, and serves as president of his condominium association.

A Democrat making his first run for elected office in this solidly Republican suburb that counts publishing magnate and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes, and former New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean among its residents, Jan nonetheless stood a good chance of winning a seat on the township committee in the Nov. 2 election.

But the night before, virtually every home in Bedminster received a campaign flier from the two Republican candidates claiming Jan and his running mate, Allen Mass, were being funded by "foreign nationals, not local residents." The implication could not be clearer to Jan, who was born in India but grew up in Pakistan.

"My name sounds foreign and I could be linked to the dark forces going around the world," he said.

Jan lost the election by 12 votes out of more than 8,100 cast. Mass came up just a single vote short. Still smarting from the flier and what they considered ballot irregularities, the Democrats challenged the results, and a recount will take place Monday by the Somerset County board of elections.

Mass, an attorney who formerly worked for the United States Justice Department, said he believes the flier's mention of "foreign nationals" constituted racist material unworthy of Bedminster.

"It's like what you'd expect from the grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan," he said. "It's astonishing in this day and age in an educated community that people would resort to something like this."

Both candidates said they have not taken contributions from foreigners, which is against the law.

"Not only do they attempt to cast suspicion on us, they accuse us of committing a crime," Mass said, adding he and Jan have not decided whether to pursue legal action over the flier.

Don Cross, who serves as deputy mayor, and Kurt Joerger, who were the top two vote-getters in the election, declined to discuss the flier, citing the pending recount. The detailed flier attempted to contrast the candidates' positions on numerous issues including sewer fees, development, zoning, taxes, leadership and government experience. At the bottom, a line indicated it was paid for by Cross and Joerger's campaign.

"The recent race was probably the nastiest, most personal collection of lies that recent memory records, primarily at the hands of Mr. Jan and Mr. Mass," Cross wrote in an e-mail message in response to an Associated Press request for an interview. "While we ran an issues-oriented campaign, never speaking of our competition, their campaign became more and more outrageous.

"The voting public gave me an overwhelming vote of confidence," he wrote. "My running mate, Kurt Joerger, is ahead by one vote in his race. Mr. Mass would be the next candidate. This vote has been challenged in court and the outcome is in the balance. It would not be proper for me or Kurt Joerger to comment until this recount issue is settled by the court."

Joerger did not respond to a telephone message left at township hall and an e-mail message seeking comment. But in a post-election interview with the News12-NJ cable channel, Joerger denied accusing the Democrats of anything suspicious.

"We never intended to cast any aspersions onto anyone or question anyone's patriotism," he told the station.

Jan said he and Mass restricted their campaign criticism to issues including sewer fees, the township's legal fees and taxes.

What particularly hurt was the abrupt ending of the feeling of belonging he had developed in his 9 1/2 years in Bedminster.

"I have done so much for this community," he said. "This is a shattering moment for me. I think it's disgusting to say the least. When you have nothing to offer the opposition, you smear them with baseless accusations."