The independent seeking to oust Josh Frydenberg has distanced herself from comments her brother levelled at the Treasurer, in which he was described as a "poisonous shit" .
As Monique Ryan was calling on Mr Frydenberg to keep their families out of their increasingly bitter battle, her brother was making disparaging remarks about the deputy Liberal leader.
Dr Ryan criticised Mr Frydenberg for sharing a story during his campaign launch about an exchange with her mother-in-law where she said she would vote for him.
The independent candidate did not dispute that the interaction occurred but told ABC Radio Melbourne that she believes her mother-in-law was misquoted.
Dr Ryan's brother, Alan Ryan, previously worked with Mr Frydenberg and was until recently a senior official in the Department of Defence.
"This may be the fight of Josh Frydenberg's political life, but it's been a pretty soft life," Alan Ryan wrote just hours after his sister criticised the Treasurer for involving family in the battle for his inner-Melbourne seat of Kooyong.
On Tuesday, Mr Ryan again attacked his sister's opponent, posting "Josh Frydenberg always was a grubby little man" from his now-deleted Twitter account.
"First time in his protected life that he has been under pressure and he goes after elderly people. This is not my Liberal Party".
"We need to clean house, move these non-entities out and get some people who know how to lead".
A spokesperson for Dr Ryan has condemned the comments from her brother, telling the ABC they do not reflect the candidate's views.
"These comments were made by Dr Monique Ryan's brother who lives overseas and has nothing to do with the campaign," the spokesperson said.
"They are totally inappropriate and do not reflect Dr Monique Ryan's views."
On Wednesday, Mr Frydenberg defended sharing the anecdote about Dr Ryan's mother-in-law.
"I have absolutely no regrets about telling the truth of a conversation, word for word, what was relayed to me on the street," he said.
"And, dare I say it, that has been relayed to many people in the community, not just myself."
