Establishment-Backed Democrats Accused of Campaign Finance Violations – By Collin Anderson (Free Beacon) / March 3 2020
Dark money group spent $7 million on N.C. and Texas Senate races in February
Two establishment-backed Democratic candidates face accusations of illegally coordinating with a liberal dark money group, according to ethics complaints filed as voters prepare to cast ballots in the Super Tuesday primaries.
VoteVets has spent tens of millions of dollars backing Democrats in key 2020 Senate races, including Cal Cunningham in North Carolina and M.J. Hegar in Texas. The dark money group spent over $7 million supporting the pair in February. The seven-figure ad blitz has helped Cunningham and Hegar secure their frontrunner status ahead of contested Super Tuesday primaries. The ad blitz also drew scrutiny from watchdogs who accuse Cunningham and Hegar of illegally coordinating with the dark money group in ethics complaints obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
Campaign photos and videos released by Cunningham and Hegar were later used in VoteVets ads. The short turnaround suggests “coordination with an outside organization,” which is illegal under campaign finance law, according to the complaints, which will be filed on Tuesday.
Charges of wrongdoing are hardly new for VoteVets. In February, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) accused the group of “exploiting our broken campaign finance laws” through its support of former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg. Sen. Gary Peters (D., Mich.) was also accused of illegally coordinating with the group in December. The repeated allegations call into question VoteVets’ legitimacy as an organization, according to Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust executive director Kendra Arnold.
“VoteVets is pumping millions of dollars into political campaigns throughout the country—from Senate races in Michigan, North Carolina, and Texas, to the presidential campaign of Pete Buttigieg,” Arnold said. “Evidence gathered by FACT suggests that many of the ads that VoteVets has been running on behalf of these candidates were the result of illegal coordination, calling into question the entire scope of VoteVets’ activity and the legality of their actions.”
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