Presidential candidate John McCain asked yesterday for an investigation of thousands of calls to New Hampshire voters disparaging the Republican senator and supporting rival Mike Huckabee.

In a letter to the New Hampshire attorney general's office, McCain's campaign accused a Colorado-based nonprofit, Common Sense Issues, of illegally conducting push polling, which is asking questions intended to influence voters while pretending to take a poll.

"This push poll disparages John McCain, while, at the same time, urging support for Governor Huckabee," McCain adviser Chuck Douglas wrote. "We demand a full inquiry into these distressing and illegal calls."

Common Sense Issues responded that New Hampshire law doesn't apply to presidential primaries, only to other elections.

"This law isn't applicable to us," said Patrick Davis, the group's executive director. "This is a headline-grabbing release. I'm not surprised this is coming from the McCain campaign. . . . This is pretty straightforward. They didn't read the law."

The state law regulating push-polling says the caller must identify the candidate he is working for or against. Deputy Attorney General Bud Fitch said the law specifically exempts primary campaigns.

Common Sense Issues favors Huckabee but does not explicitly say so in the calls, which are similar to ones being made in Iowa, South Carolina and Florida.

Voters are asked if they know that McCain was part of a group "that derailed the nominations of 14 conservative judicial nominees." The callers also ask voters if they know McCain limited the free-speech rights of anti-abortion groups and pushed for campaign finance legislation.

Davis said all of the questions are finely tailored for the primary and make no hint of a general-election matchup.

"We know what we're doing," Davis said.

McCain spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker responded, "We are glad that Mr. Davis claims to know what he is doing, and we look forward to hearing his explanation to the New Hampshire attorney general."

She said New Hampshire voters shouldn't let "undisclosed soft money" shape the primary election.

The 60-second calls, which started Friday in New Hampshire, say they are a "public opinion survey," according to recipients. If voters say they plan to vote for McCain, the tone turns nasty. The last questions are favorable to Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor. Before the campaign ends, Davis said Common Sense Issues plans to call more than 400,000 homes in the state.

Common Sense has insisted for weeks it is not coordinating with the Huckabee campaign.

"The calls state facts regarding the positions that presidential candidates have taken on issues and public policies - facts that are clear from the public record and indeed consistent with recent statements made by candidates," the group said in a statement yesterday.

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