The California Republican Party has filed a complaint against Sen. Barack Obama, alleging the Democratic presidential nominee misused campaign funds when he visited his ailing grandmother in Hawaii last month.

The complaint, filed yesterday with the Federal Election Commission, came the same day Obama learned that his grandmother, 86-year-old Madelyn Dunham, died of cancer Sunday night.

Obama continued with his campaign, and spoke briefly about Dunham at a rally in North Carolina.

His campaign did not immediately respond to the California GOP complaint.

Andy Winer, coordinator for Obama's Hawaii campaign, referred questions to the national campaign office in Chicago. An e-mail message sent late afternoon Hawaii time was not immediately returned.

The complaint alleges that Obama used campaign funds for personal use last month, when he took two days off from campaigning to visit with Dunham, whose health had deteriorated in recent weeks from cancer.

“;This was the right thing for any grandson to do - at his own expense - but it was not campaign activity,”; the complaint said. “;The trip featured no campaign events of any kind and his decision to travel was 'not driven by political concerns,' according to an (Obama for America) spokeswoman.”;

The California Republican Party asks the committee to investigate the alleged misuse of funds.