WILMINGTON — The Delaware Democratic Party has filed a com­plaint with the Federal Elections Commission alleging violations of campaign finance laws by an Inde­pendent candidate seeking to unseat Democratic Sen. Thomas R. Carper.

The complaint, dated Wednesday, alleges that Alex Pires Jr., a wealthy lawyer and southern Delaware busi­nessman, passed out free food and drinks from bars and restaurants he owns at campaign events without disclosing any payments to those businesses for the food and staff time used. The Democrats allege that Mr. Pires violated federal law by accepting prohibited corporate in­kind contributions.

Democrats also claim that Mr. Pires has failed to include disclaim­ers on his website and political com­munications indicating who paid for them.

“For a guy who has repeatedly re­ferred to Delaware as the most cor­rupt state in America, Alex Pires doesn’t seem to adhere to a very strict code of ethics,” Joe Aronson, executive director of the state Dem­ocratic Party, said in a statement is­sued Thursday that also criticized Mr. Pires’ work as a class-action lawyer representing minority farm­ers. “From using his businesses as a campaign piggy bank to failing to disclose that his campaign commit­tee is responsible for political adver­tising, Alex’s campaign reflects his footloose past.”

Mr. Pires responded with his own statement resurrecting an unsub­stantiated accusation of spousal abuse by Sen. Carper that surfaced during his 1996 gubernatorial cam­paign and suggesting that Sen. Carp­er has misrepresented his military record by implying that he served in Vietnam.

“In retaliation, he complains to the FEC that I gave three older ladies pieces of chicken from Jimmy’s Grill — the best chicken in Delaware,” Mr. Pires said.

A Carper campaign spokesman described Mr. Pires’ accusations as “despicable and outrageous.”