McCain Allies Find Finance-Law Holes
Governors' Fund Recruits Big Donors in Bid to Catch Obama
By BRODY MULLINS and T.W. FARNAM
Wall Street Journal
July 3, 2008
Allies of Sen. John McCain have found new loopholes in the campaign-finance law he helped write -- and they're using them to reel in huge contributions to help him compete with Sen. Barack Obama.
In one method, a Republican Party fund aimed at electing governors has started marketing itself as a home for contributions of unlimited size to help Sen. McCain. His 2002 campaign law limits donations to presidential races to try to curtail the influence of wealth.
The Republican Governors Association isn't subject to those limits, and has long gathered up large donations from individuals and companies. Now it is telling donors it can use their contributions to benefit Sen. McCain in some key battleground states.
That makes the group "the best way to help McCain," says donor David Hanna, who gave $25,000 -- more than 10 times the legal cap of $2,300 for direct gifts to presidential candidates.
Democrats question the legality, and even the McCain camp questions the accuracy of the group's pitch. In 2005 the Federal Election Commission banned such groups from soliciting donations by pledging help to a federal candidate, but campaign-finance experts disagree about how the law might be applied in this case.
The 2008 campaign has featured numerous end runs around supposed donation and spending limits for the benefit of all the candidates during the primaries. In a first for a presidential candidate, Sen. Obama last month rejected taxpayer financing for his general-election campaign, allowing him to spend without limit after the primary season. Analysts now expect him to raise more than $200 million in private donations for the general election, following a record $287 million raised through May 30 for the primary campaign.
(Continued here.)
By BRODY MULLINS and T.W. FARNAM
Wall Street Journal
July 3, 2008
Allies of Sen. John McCain have found new loopholes in the campaign-finance law he helped write -- and they're using them to reel in huge contributions to help him compete with Sen. Barack Obama.
In one method, a Republican Party fund aimed at electing governors has started marketing itself as a home for contributions of unlimited size to help Sen. McCain. His 2002 campaign law limits donations to presidential races to try to curtail the influence of wealth.
The Republican Governors Association isn't subject to those limits, and has long gathered up large donations from individuals and companies. Now it is telling donors it can use their contributions to benefit Sen. McCain in some key battleground states.
That makes the group "the best way to help McCain," says donor David Hanna, who gave $25,000 -- more than 10 times the legal cap of $2,300 for direct gifts to presidential candidates.
Democrats question the legality, and even the McCain camp questions the accuracy of the group's pitch. In 2005 the Federal Election Commission banned such groups from soliciting donations by pledging help to a federal candidate, but campaign-finance experts disagree about how the law might be applied in this case.
The 2008 campaign has featured numerous end runs around supposed donation and spending limits for the benefit of all the candidates during the primaries. In a first for a presidential candidate, Sen. Obama last month rejected taxpayer financing for his general-election campaign, allowing him to spend without limit after the primary season. Analysts now expect him to raise more than $200 million in private donations for the general election, following a record $287 million raised through May 30 for the primary campaign.
(Continued here.)
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