In moving from re-election bid to presidential run, Richardson may have skirted campaign finance law

The Politico has an interesting article today calling into question Gov. Bill Richardson’s use of money he raised for his gubernatorial re-election campaign as he prepared and began his run for president.

In an analysis of Richardson’s state finance report filed this week, the publication reported that even after Richardson won re-election, he “continued using his gubernatorial campaign committee to fund what became the infrastructure of his next campaign.”

From Dec. 2 of last year to May 7, the gubernatorial campaign paid nearly $360,000 to staffers and consultants now working on his presidential campaign. The Politico reported that the move appears to be legal and is becoming common in presidential races, but that, in Richardson’s case, it may also skirt the intent of campaign finance law.

That’s because of two facts: It’s illegal for Richardson to transfer the funds left over from his state run to his federal campaign. In addition, because New Mexico has no campaign contribution limits, much of the money Richardson’s state campaign accepted and spent in the transition phase came from contributions that wouldn’t be legal for a federal campaign.

Federal law limits contributions to $4,600 – half of it for a primary cycle and half for a general election.

Such laws kicked in when Richardson formed his exploratory committee on Jan. 21 but, The Politico reports, his state campaign account remains active.

Amanda Cooper, deputy manager for the presidential campaign, said Richardson is aware of the law and has been diligent in following it.

Keeping staffers on payroll, funding inauguration

During the five months covered in the state report, according to The Politico, Richardson’s gubernatorial campaign – which had already completed the task of re-electing the governor – raised more than $660,000, much of it from contributions that would be illegal under federal law.

He spent $1.31 million. Cooper said it was all used to prepare for Richardson’s Jan. 1 inauguration, close down the campaign operation and pay bills that arrived late but were for services rendered before the election, The Politico reported.

Some of those late bills – totaling $225,000 – were from consultants who are now being paid by Richardson’s presidential campaign.

And Cooper was one of 17 workers who stayed on the payroll of the state campaign after the inauguration. They received $116,000 in compensation before moving to the presidential campaign.

Cooper said that was a “skeleton staff” compared to the hundreds of employees who worked on Richardson’s re-election.

A spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics, Massie Ritsch, told The Politico that Richardson used his state campaign like many candidates use federal campaigns and political action committees – to “raise money and spend it on things that will help them in their presidential race: They retain staff, they do polling and build their fundraising list.”

But candidates who have run for federal office can legally transfer those funds to presidential campaigns. Hillary Clinton, for example, was able to transfer $10 million from her Senate account to her presidential campaign.

Mitt Romney, who may be in a similar situation to Richardson, raised nearly $7.1 million through non-federal committees he set up in seven states before this year, The Politico reported.

Richardson and Romney can’t transfer the funds. They also can’t spend the cash to assist their presidential campaigns if it’s from contributions that would have violated federal law. Richardson took several donations in December and January that would violate federal law, including $25,000 each from a Denver real-estate company, the drug maker Pfizer, AFSCME, and several other companies.

Cooper said the presidential campaign is paying its own way, and has spent $22,000 to buy desks, chairs and computers from the gubernatorial campaign.

“The only money we raised after the election was for the inaugural ball,” she told The Politico.