(Updated to reflect comment from Democratic party chair)
The Federal Election Commission has dismissed a complaint filed in the heat of last year’s 3rd Congressional District race charging that a super PAC illegally coordinated with the state Republican Party to produce an ad against Sharice Davids.
The FEC voted 4-0 to reject the complaint brought by the Kansas Democratic Party alleging that the GOP violated federal election law when it coordinated with the Congressional Leadership Fund to produce an ad opposing Davids in her successful campaign against incumbent Kevin Yoder last fall.
The complaint centered on an ad called “Risky” that featured Alana Zimmer-Roethle, who was then secretary of the Kansas Republican Party. The ad portrayed Zimmer-Roethle as a “mom of four” without mentioning her position in the Republican Party.
Kansas Democrats filed a complaint with the FEC, arguing that constituted an illegal coordination between the Congressional Leadership Fund and the Kansas Republican Party.
The FEC’s general counsel recommended dismissing the case, saying there was insufficient evidence to show there was coordination between the party and the political action committee.
“The Commission has concluded that someone’s role as an officer of a party committee does not create a presumption that all of her private actions are taken on behalf of that party committee,” the FEC general counsel wrote in a report to the commission.
“The officer must be acting in her capacity as an agent of that committee in order to hold the committee liable for her actions,” the report states.
“The Party and CLF responses indicate that Zimmer-Roethle was not acting as an agent
of the party when she appeared in ‘Risky,'” the report says. “The Party’s response indicates that none of its 10 other officers knew of the ad until it aired on television.”
Democratic Party Chairwoman Vicki Hiatt said she was glad to see the FEC follow through with an investigation of the complaint.
However, she said the party would continue to pursue action in the future any time it believes election laws are violated.
The Republican Party said the complaint was meritless.
“It’s no surprise that the Federal Election Commission dismissed this baseless complaint,” said Shannon Golden, executive director of the state Republican Party.
