California’s House members, many of whom previously served in the state Legislature, have definitely innovated in their disposal of state-raised funds. They have given to schools and nonprofits. They have contributed to fellow officeholders. They have donated to their political party or its affiliated organizations.
Sometimes, their spending has provoked complaints.
Because different rules apply to raising money for state and federal elections, state-raised funds are not supposed to be spent directly on a congressional campaign. Within the law, though, there is considerable ambiguity about whether an expense counts as a federal campaign activity.
“In most cases there are five possible explanations, and only one of them is illegal,” Levinson said.
The gray area was illuminated by Rep. Jeff Denham, a Turlock Republican, in his inaugural 2010 run for the House of Representatives.
Denham was an eight-year veteran of the state Senate, and a potential candidate for lieutenant governor when he jumped into the House race. In the heat of a contested Republican primary, Denham transferred $225,000 from his state campaign account to a small military veterans’ charity known as Remembering the Brave.
The charity sponsored a benefit for veterans at the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino, for which Denham, an Air Force veteran, cut radio and television advertisements. The benefit took place 11 days before the primary, and Denham’s Republican opponents charged it was a thinly disguised campaign scheme.