The Alaska commission governing campaign finance ethics deferred on Wednesday a decision on a complaint filed earlier this month alleging that the Republican Governors Association was illegally spending money in Alaska to support Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s reelection bid.to the body’s executive director, allowing A Stronger Alaska, the independent expenditure group funded by the RGA, to continue spending money to support Dunleavy before the November election.
A Stronger Alaska has already spent more than $600,000 on campaign mail supporting Dunleavy, including $300,000 reported earlier this week. It still has more than $2 million to spend. The commissioners recognized in their decision that A Stronger Alaska could continue to spend the money in its account without a final decision on the complaint. But commissioners wrote that “if it is later determined that sufficient separation between the two entities does not exist, A Stronger Alaska will continue to make expenditures at its own peril” and that would expose the RGA to “penalties.