Frank LaRose Facing Ethics Complaint For Sketchy Shadow Campaign
July 27, 2023
This isn’t the first time LaRose has faced legal questions and ethics concerns
Frank LaRose has been in the Ohio Senate slugfest for ten days and is already facing an ethics complaint for his sketchy shadow campaign, filed by an Ohio Republican. The complaint alleges that Frank LaRose “illegally ran a de-facto campaign for the U.S. Senate for months without disclosing how it was funded.”
This isn’t the first time LaRose’s sketchy shadow campaign has raised legal questions and ethics concerns – including that his super PAC is being run by the same operatives behind the largest corruption scandal in state history. Earlier this year, the Daily Beast found that LaRose had “possibly trigger[ed] campaign finance regulations” by admitting he was raising money into a super PAC.
Ohioans – including his opponent Bernie Moreno – have been slamming LaRose for weeks for “campaigning out of his office” and being more focused on his political agenda than doing his job.
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Cleveland.com: Elections complaint accuses Frank LaRose of flouting election law during lead up to U.S. Senate campaign
Andrew Tobias
July 27, 2023
- Secretary of State Frank LaRose, leading up to the official start of his bid for the U.S. Senate, illegally ran a de-facto campaign for the U.S. Senate for months without disclosing how it was funded, a recent federal elections complaint filed by a local Republican activist alleges.
- Meanwhile, LaRose filed no paperwork documenting any campaign expenses, King said, while also raising more money for the Leadership for Ohio Fund than he’d be allowed to if he were a declared candidate. The Leadership for Ohio Fund also has made no public disclosures, although it may soon after registering with the Federal Elections Commission as a Super PAC on July 15, just before LaRose announced his candidacy.
- King’s complaint alleges LaRose clearly had decided he would get in the race weeks ago, when in early May, he told a potential donor he was “‘preparing to, hopefully soon, announce [his] candidacy for this office.’” LaRose has telegraphed plans to run for the U.S. Senate since around then, telling donors and reporters that he would make a decision on the race “soon” while making arguments for himself as a candidate. In late April, LaRose also attended a fundraiser hosted by the Leadership for Ohio Fund at the Washington, D.C., home of Barry Jackson, ex-House Speaker John Boehner’s former chief of staff, according to NBC News.
- The FEC complaint speculates that LaRose, before declaring his official candidacy earlier this month, may have raised money for the Leadership for Ohio Fund in excess of the $3,300-per-donor limits.
- “To me in my untrained, non-campaign eye, it’s pretty clear what he’s doing,” King said.