Baswell Guthrie pulls “fundraising” press releases
As the abbreviated AL-05 campaign went into full swing Cheryl Baswell Guthrie’s campaign released two press releases touting her “fundraising” efforts. She first released one on April 28 saying that she “raised over $102,000 in just eighteen days.” She followed that one up on May 6 by saying “her campaign raised over $200,000 in thirty days, raising $100,000 in just the last twelve days.”
Those press releases have since been pulled from her campaign website, although the ubiquitous Google cache versions can still be seen. I wonder why…
Maybe because they were loose with the truth to begin with since she has only raised a total of $62,850 from individuals (other than herself), which is what one would typically consider fundraising. The significant numbers her campaign was releasing were actually the product of her own generous giving – $256,200 so far.
Obviously she knew that the press releases implied that she was raising the funds via individuals, otherwise she would not have pulled them so hastily after her FEC filing showed the her own considerable contributions. It’s not like the magnitude of the personal contributions surprised her; she was the one making them. The logical conclusion is that she knowingly released misleading statements – probably with the intent of pulling them when the truth came out all along.
On Dale Jackson today she said she had received pledges in that amount but put her own money out there first, and is saving that $ for the general.
I heard her as well. Do you believe her explanation? I found it lacking. She still didn’t cite a reason for removing the press releases that were misleading.
Contrast her press releases with Wayne Parker’s. He released numbers backed up by his FEC filings. Guthrie offered up big numbers without any accountability. We may never find out if her claims are true. Whoever wins the GOP nomination (Parker, Guthrie, etc.) will be able to raise $ to compete for the open seat. I’m sure that many of the same people who pledged to give her money for a general election showdown with Dr. Griffith would also be more than willing to give to any other credible Republican. In other words, pledges for general election contributions are relatively meaningless. More to the point, her press releases certainly didn’t give any such impression that the “fundraising” was for general election money.
She must be rich. I can’t imagine putting out $265K on a primary.
Brian, No.
Chery Baswell Guthrie has loaned herself another $90,500 this morning. She has now spent $435,524.00 of her own money. The FEC has something called the Millionaires Amendment. This is a way to “regulate” candidates who are self funded. First of all if you spend more than $350,000 of your own money in any one cycle your opponent(s) can double the maximum that their donors can give. Also, their is a clause under Form 2 – Notification of Candidacy that states that at the outset of the campaign a candidate must estimate the amount they will spend over the $350,000 threshold and this information must also be sent to all opponents. Cheryl Guthrie did not estimate this amount on her FEC Form 2 (Notification of Candidacy) nor did she fax this to her opponents. She is in violation of FEC law. A violation of an FEC law is considered a felony.
Full disclosure (it’s a policy): “Daisy” is affiliated with Wayne Parker’s campaign.