WASHINGTON — A Washington lobbyist sued The New York Times and several of its reporters and editors Tuesday, charging that the newspaper had falsely created an impression that she had engaged in an improper romantic relationship with Senator John McCain.

The suit, filed in the Federal District Court in Richmond, Va., said that a front-page article on Feb. 21 “falsely communicated” that the lobbyist, Vicki L. Iseman, and Mr. McCain “had an illicit ‘romantic’ and unethical relationship in breach of the public trust in 1999.” At that time, Ms. Iseman was representing clients before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, then headed by Mr. McCain.

“Ms. Iseman did not engage in any behavior toward him that was anything other than professional and appropriate,” said the suit, which seeks damages of $27 million.

The article, published at a time when Mr. McCain had clawed his way back from early setbacks to emerge as the all but certain Republican presidential nominee, examined his stated efforts to maintain high ethical standards even as he sometimes edged close to potential conflicts of interest. With its focus on the details of his Washington life behind the scenes, it provoked immediate debate and angry protest.

The article did not directly say that Ms. Iseman and Mr. McCain had had a romantic relationship. But it did say several aides of his had been “convinced” that he had grown too close to Ms. Iseman and that he might be damaged if the relationship became known.

The article quoted Ms. Iseman and Mr. McCain as denying that they had ever had a romantic relationship or engaged in any inappropriate behavior.

Abbe R. Serphos, a spokeswoman for The Times, said in a statement: “We fully stand behind the article. We continue to believe it to be true and accurate, and that we will prevail. As we said at the time, it was an important piece that raised questions about a presidential contender and the perception that he had been engaged in conflicts of interest.”

The defendants in the suit are The New York Times Company; Bill Keller, the paper’s executive editor; Dean Baquet, its Washington bureau chief; Jim Rutenberg, Stephen Labaton and David D. Kirkpatrick, all Times reporters; and Marilyn W. Thompson, then a reporter for the paper.

W. Coleman Allen Jr. of Richmond and Rodney A. Smolla of the Washington and Lee University School of Law, who are representing Ms. Iseman, declined to comment on the suit.