MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The Dodge County district attorney pulled his support for Supreme Court candidate Michael Gableman this week, saying a television ad his campaign ran violates the code of judicial conduct and is "revolting."

Gableman, a Burnett County circuit court judge, has built his campaign against Justice Louis Butler around his support from district attorneys and sheriffs.

Dodge County District Attorney Steven G. Bauer announced his decision to pull his support of Gableman in a letter to the editor published Wednesday in the Watertown Daily Times and Friday in the Wisconsin State Journal.

Bauer said he believes the Gableman ad makes him unfit to be a justice on the state's high court.

"This is not a factual ad. I have no interest in being associated with a campaign that is not factual," Bauer said in a Friday interview. "This crossed the line. It was revolting, quite frankly. I do think it undermines the entire judicial system."

Gableman campaign adviser Darrin Schmitz issued a brief statement Friday saying "Mr. Bauer is free to do as he sees fit and we wish him well." He also noted that four police chiefs announced their support of Gableman since the ad started to run.

Bauer was still listed as a Gableman supporter on his campaign Web site Friday morning but his name will be removed, Schmitz said.

Even without his backing, Gableman still has the support of the majority of the state's district attorneys and sheriffs. He has touted those endorsements, saying it shows he is the choice of law enforcement.

Butler has the support of five groups representing more than 18,000 law enforcement officers, as well as 20 district attorneys.

Bauer said he is not supporting anyone in the race.

The election is April 1. The winner will serve a 10-year term.

Bauer pulled his endorsement of Gableman over an ad that involves the case of Reuben Lee Mitchell, a convicted rapist who Butler defended on appeal while working in the public defenders office.

The ad is misleading because it doesn't tell viewers that Butler handled Mitchell's case as the assigned defense attorney, not a judge, Bauer said. Butler was fulfilling his ethical duty as Mitchell's defense attorney, Bauer said.

The ad, which ran for a week and is no longer on the air, said that Butler found a loophole and Mitchell went on to molest another child. But what it doesn't tell viewers is that Mitchell served his entire prison sentence, he was not freed because of anything Butler did, and he was sentenced to prison for 40 years and remains there to this day because of the second offense.

Bauer said the ad is inaccurate and it also mocks the constitutional right of the accused to have an effective defense attorney.

"As a prosecutor, I firmly believe in convicting and properly punishing criminals, but I also understand that I have a duty to be certain that a defendant is actually guilty," Bauer said in the letter. "A competent criminal defense attorney helps me be accurate."

Bauer goes on to say he is troubled that a candidate for the Supreme Court would "belittle our constitutional right to counsel."

"I am equally troubled by Gableman's cavalier disregard for accuracy in his representations to the public through this ad," he said. "The integrity of the criminal justice system should not be allowed to be tarnished by one man's ambitious desire for higher office."

The ad has generated a complaint with the state Judicial Commission filed by the liberal group Citizen Action of Wisconsin. The complaint charges that the ad is intentionally misleading and therefore violates the state's code of judicial conduct.

Gableman defended the ad, saying it was factual and was meant to demonstrate differences between his background as a former district attorney and prosecutor and Butler, who worked as a public defender.

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On the Net: Michael Gableman campaign: http://www.gablemanforsupremecourt.com/

Louis Butler campaign: http://www.louisbutler.com/

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)