A campaign finance reform group is pushing Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to publicly disavow a super PAC staffed by close allies that is supporting his presidential bid.
, Act Now on Climate, to support Inslee for president. The group, which will disclose its donors later this year, quickly spent a quarter-million dollars on pro-Inslee digital advertisements.The letter to Inslee, sent by the group End Citizens United, warns that super PACs founded to support a single candidate are “designed to serve as an arm of the campaign” and are frequently used to exploit gray areas in campaign finance law.
The End Citizens United letter comes amid competition in the Democratic presidential primary to ground campaigns in grassroots. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ legion of supporters contributed $10 million for his campaign in a week, while Sen. Elizabeth Warren recently announced she would not hold closed-door fundraisers with wealthy donors.