Perdue's Senate campaign disclosures under scrutiny
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo: Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images
The Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission is evaluating whether former U.S. Sen. David Perdue has violated state law by spending some of his leftover Senate campaign funds on his governor's race.
Why it matters: Perdue's Senate campaign raised almost $100 million during the 2020 election and 2021 runoffs from donors across the country as a show of Republican unity. He had about $4.3 million leftover as of March 31.
What they're saying: David Emadi, executive director of the commission, tells Axios that Georgia law allows federal campaign money to be spent on state campaigns only up to the standard $7,600 contribution limits. (The FEC does not regulate federal money moving to state races; states do.)
- "We’re aware of the federal filings, and we’re in the process of looking into whether any violations of state law occurred," Emadi said.
A spokesperson for the Perdue for Governor campaign declined to comment.
Details: Federal disclosures show Perdue paid nearly $24,000 in January and February for "management consulting" to AJ Strategies, LLC. AJ Strategies is the company run by McKenzie Vaughn, Perdue's former Senate finance director who reports on her LinkedIn page that she joined the gubernatorial campaign as finance director in December.
- They also show payments of nearly $200,000 to Wiley Rein LLP, the law firm that represented Perdue in his lawsuit against Gov. Brian Kemp over a campaign finance law.
- The latest gubernatorial campaign disclosures, ending Jan. 31, do not show payments to AJ Strategies or Wiley Rein.
- Both companies are longstanding vendors of Perdue's, but this year the description of AJ Strategies' services changed from "fundraising consulting" to "management consulting."
Of note: In the most recent January disclosure, Perdue's fundraising in the governor's race lagged behind Kemp at a ratio of roughly 11 to 1.
- Former President Trump recently made his first major donation of the cycle to an anti-Kemp PAC.