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The resignation of Congressman Mark Foley, a Florida Republican, following revelations of Internet sexual exchanges with underage boys should not be viewed as a partisan issue, two rival congressional candidates say.

Democrat Gabrielle Giffords and Republican Randy Graf, running against each other in District 8, say the issue should be thoroughly investigated, but it doesn't necessarily plague one party.

"Any congressman, regardless of party affiliation, who is involved in the accusation that has been made needs to be removed from office," Graf in an said interview at a Republican luncheon. "I mean this isn't a partisan issue. It's about people back there doing the right thing and at the end of the day if they can't do the right thing" then they should a removed from office."

Giffords says the whole situation sends a bad message.

"It's not a Republican issue," Giffords said in an interview after a rally here on Tuesday. "If you're in leadership in the House of Representatives and you know a member is abusing kids there's a responsibility regardless of party affiliation to step forward and say 'this isn't going to be tolerated.'

"So its incredibly disappointing," she said of the way the allegations were handled. "It sends a really bad message that people in leadership aren't going to hold their own members accountable."

"There is still a lot of information we don't have, but we can't tolerate this kind of behavior," Graf said. "But when you get young folks coming back to Washington, D.C., to do a job and help out and they're honored to be able to do that, they shouldn't have to be subject to anything like this."

Graf said he doesn't think the scandal will hurt Republicans as a whole, as some have suggested.

Giffords said it's too soon to tell what the political fallout might be.