Roger Wicker has a nice edge in fundraising over Democratic challenger, former Governor Ronnie Musgrove. The race is tied according to last two polls. Musgrove is not going to be the most progressive Senate candidate ever, but he is a H*LL of a lot better than Rubber Stamp Roger Wicker.
We have blogged about Roger Wicker's abysmal voting record to the point we are blue in the face at Cotton Mouth. Today we find out that his fundraising is not only backed by special interests (Wicker is a king of pork, with a revolving door), but that Wicker is playing dirty pool.
The Musgrove for Senate campaign today filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) against Roger Wicker for accepting illegal campaign contributions. Wicker accepted contributions from individual donors and PACS in excess of the limit set by federal law by "double dipping" from two 2008 campaign accounts to fund his race for Senate.
Wicker violated federal election law by having contributors donate to his 2008 House reelection committee and his 2008 Senate election committee then combining the funds to exceed the limit allowed by law. This "double dipping" is illegal under federal elections law.
Following Wicker's transfer of $550,000 from his House Committee to his Senate Committee the FEC inquired about the funding. In response, Wicker said the transfers consisted solely of contributions from a previous election cycle. As the facts demonstrate, this was a false statement.
Wicker did not have adequate funding in his House account prior to the 2008 cycle to transfer the funds. Some of the contributions from the $550,000 transfer were matched in the senate account to exceed legal limits. The illegal contributions are listed below.
"Roger Wicker and his allies have proven that they will not let the law stand in their way in a desperate attempt to save a failing campaign. This type of Washington politics needs to change," Tim Phillips, Musgrove for Senate campaign manager said. "Rather than wait for the FEC to fine him, Wicker should return the illegal contributions."
The contributions received in excess of the contribution limits are listed below:
· $5,600 from Roy Anderson III: Wicker for Senate accepted contributions from Roy Anderson III totaling $4,600 during the 2008 election cycle. Friends of Roger Wicker accepted contributions from Roy Anderson III totaling $1,000 during the 2008 election cycle.
· $4,700 from Larry Homan: Wicker for Senate accepted contributions from Larry Homan totaling $2,700 during the 2008 election cycle. Friends of Roger Wicker accepted contributions from Larry Homan totaling $2,000 during the 2008 election cycle.
· $6,900 from W.D. Mounger: Wicker for Senate accepted contributions from W.D. Mounger totaling $4,600 during the 2008 election cycle. Friends of Roger Wicker accepted contributions from W.D. Mounger totaling $2,300 during the 2008 election cycle.
· Wicker Accepted $6,900 From Joe Sanderson: Wicker accepted $4,600 from Joe Sanderson on January 25 for his Senate campaign. He previously accepted $2,300 from Joe Sanderson for his House campaign bringing Sanderson's total contributions to $6,900.
· $5,500 from Todd Threadgill: Wicker for Senate accepted contributions from Todd Threadgill totaling $4,500 during the 2008 election cycle. Friends of Roger Wicker accepted contributions from Todd Threadgill totaling $1,000 during the 2008 election cycle.
· $15,000 from BanCorp South Bank PAC: Wicker for Senate accepted contributions from BanCorp South Bank PAC totaling $10,000 during the 2008 election cycle. Friends of Roger Wicker accepted contributions from BanCorp South Bank PAC totaling $5,000 during the 2008 election cycle.
· $13,800 from EADS North America: Americans for Competition in Aerospace PAC: Wicker for Senate accepted contributions from EADS North America: Americans for Competition in Aerospace PAC totaling $10,000 during the 2008 election cycle. Friends of Roger Wicker accepted contributions from EADS North America: Americans for Competition in Aerospace PAC totaling $3,800 during the 2008 election cycle.
