- January 20, 2022
- Posted by: Bastion team
- Category: World News
This week, Gov. Brian Kemp filed an ethics complaint against primary opponent former Senator David Perdue, alleging that his campaign improperly coordinated with a political action committee, which solicited money and phone numbers on Perdue’s behalf. That’s a no-no in campaign finance law.
- A Perdue spokesperson called the complaint “laughable and desperate.”
Why it matters: This complaint connects back to a larger fight brewing between Perdue and Kemp about what Perdue calls an “uneven and discriminatory campaign finance structure” that benefits Kemp.
- Last week, Perdue sued Kemp over a new law that he argues “grants special fundraising and expenditure privileges to the incumbent governor…while denying those privileges to Senator Perdue.”
Flashback: Last year, the General Assembly passed the law that allows the incumbent governor, lieutenant governor, party nominees and majority and minority caucuses to create “leadership committees.”
- These committees are not subject to three standard campaign finance regulations: a $7,600 limit per donor for statewide races, a prohibition against fundraising during the legislative session, and a prohibition against coordination between candidates and political action committees.
What they’re saying: As to whether the new structure is unfair to Perdue, Kemp tells Axios that non-incumbents have had “an unfair advantage over me because they can raise money during the legislative session.”
- This is also an argument…