PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Democrat Frank Caprio has a new target.

While Republican John Robitaille trumpets a poll by the national GOP that shows him in "a three-way tie'' with front-runners Caprio and Lincoln D. Chafee in the state's 1st Congressional District, Democrat Caprio has gone into attack mode on Robitaille.

In a rare move, the National Republican Congressional Committee released all of the findings of the poll of 300 likely voters conducted October 20-21, and it showed Caprio and Robitaille tied at 28 percent, Chafee at 27 percent, Moderate Party candidate Ken Block at 4 percent, with 12 percent either undecided or refusing to answer.

In mailers that started arriving at Rhode Island doorsteps this week, Caprio, the current state treasurer, says: "John Robitaille is not ready to manage Rhode Island's budget crisis.''

The mailer uses Robitaille's own oft-heard statement when asked how he would cut state spending. Each time, he has said he would surround himself with top notch budget advisers because: "I am not a budget guru.''

The mailer also ridicules his initial answer when asked how he would solve Rhode Island's economic problems and high unemployment.

"Shockingly,'' the Caprio mailer states, "John Robitaille, when he announced for governor, responded to a reporter's questions about how he would turn the state's economy around by saying, "I think everybody right now, tonight, should go out and take their husband or wife to dinner.''

The next dig: "John Robitaille closed his small public relations firm last year and 12 people lost their jobs while Robitaille took a job with state government that paid him $129,000 ... We don't need John Robitaille.''

Most of Caprio's attacks have been reserved for Chafee, the former U.S. Senator with a political brand name in Rhode Island, with whom he has been in a seesawing "statistical tie,'' with Chafee up slightly in one poll, Caprio up in the next, and Robitaille trailing.

The mailer marks Caprio's first frontal attack on Robitaille, the former communications director for Republican Gov. Donald Carcieri, who appears to be competing for the same block of conservative voters, while Republican-turned-Independent Lincoln D. Chafee aims for the state's more liberal-to-moderate voters.

Robitaille thinks he knows the reason.

Alluding to the poll that Public Opinion Strategies conducted for the National Republican Congressional Committee that showed him "moving into a three way tie with his opponents,'' he issued this statement:

"Voters are tired of career politicians and 'politics as usual'. This poll shows that my positive message is resonating with voters. I'm focused on running a substantive campaign on the issues that matter most to Rhode Island; cutting spending, cutting taxes, and bringing jobs back to our state."

The poll also shows Republican state Rep. John Loughlin and Providence Mayor David Cicilline tied in the 1st Congressional District race, with each garnering 41 percent of the vote, 12 percent undecided and others eiterh refusing to answer or leaning to Independent Ken Capalbo.

Loughlin spokeswoman Cara Cromwell hailed the GOP findings as an indication Loughlin "is gaining new support every day. People are fed up with politics as usual, and they recognize that John Loughlin is the candidate who will focus on jobs and say no to more spending and higher taxes."

But Cicilline spokesman Eric Hyers said: "These numbers have zero credibility and we know them to be grossly inaccurate. This has been put out by national Republicans in a last-ditch effort to drum up any kind of excitement for their candidate's flailing and desperate campaign. We know that more than 41% of voters in the district believe in Social Security.''

The Caprio camp had no comment, but Chafee spokesman Michael Trainor said: "While our polling has noted some movement for Robataille, his upward trend appears to have come from Caprio...[and] Robataille remains in third place.''

"We are comfortable with our position,'' Trainor said, "but it remains an extremely competitive race.''