GOP Candidate’s Campaign Donations Went Illegally Over Limit
Oct 27, 2020, 6:17 PM | Updated: 6:17 pm
Utah Rep. Burgess Owens. (Steve Griffin, Deseret News)
(Steve Griffin, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Republican Burgess Owens is refunding and reallocating illegal campaign donations that went above contribution limits.
The New York Times reported Tuesday the former football player challenging first-term Congressman Ben McAdams collected about $135,000 in excess contributions.
The news comes shortly after he raised a large $2.5 million haul between July and October.
The campaign says the large number of donors and electronic contributions means it happened without the candidate’s knowledge.
“With over 50,000 donors and with many campaign donations made electronically, excess contributions can occur without the campaign’s knowledge,” said Owens campaign spokesman Jesse Ranney. “That is why the Federal Election Commission has processes in place to handle this situation.”
McAdams’ campaign calls it part of a pattern of financial mismanagement.
“From six bankruptcies and unpaid taxes to misusing charitable funds and now campaign finance violations, Burgess Owens has displayed a pattern of financial mismanagement,” McAdams campaign manager Andrew Roberts said. “Federal election law is crystal clear and we follow it. We record every contribution, issue all our refunds and file our 48-hour reports. The Owens campaign is behaving as if the laws don’t apply to them.”
KSL-TV contributed to this report.
