By Bill Britt
Alabama Political Reporter
MONTGOMERY—The Federal Elections Commission (FEC) has informed US Senate candidate, Jonathon McConnell, it wants more information after he missed the deadline for filing his Statement of Organization.
In a February 4, 2016, letter the FEC wrote, “This letter is prompted by the Commission’s preliminary review of the Statement of Organization referenced above. This notice requests information essential to full public disclosure of your federal election campaign finances. An adequate response must be received by the response date noted above,” which is March 10, 2016. The letter points out that McConnell failed to complete his Statement of Candidacy and that the FEC would like more information on why the candidate failed to file his Statement of Organization on time.
Last month, al.com reported McConnell, “potentially faces fines of up to $10,000, because he was late in registering his campaign committee, according to Federal Elections Commission documents.”
The campaign stated it sent the filing on time, but it was not received by the FEC. This was disputed by the Commission, according to the al.com report. The campaign said they took steps to resend the form after they “learned the FEC did not receive it.”
A spokeswoman for McConnell’s campaign went further telling al.com, “When we learned the FEC did not receive the statement of organization, we immediately filed a new copy. We have complied with the rules and are in good standing with the FEC.”
The commission informed McConnell it would require, “Adequate responses received on or before this date will be taken into consideration in determining whether audit action will be initiated.”
When an individual runs for the US Senate, they are required to file two forms at the beginning of their campaign: a Statement of Candidacy, and a Statement of Organization. McConnell has been informed by the FEC his Statement of Candidacy is lacking information and it wants a further explanation for why his Statement of Organization was not filed by the deadline.
McConnell is seen as chief rival to incumbent Sen. Richard Shelby for the State’s Republican primary. Shelby has opened his war chest in an effort to blunt any challengers. Other rivals in the primary are John Martin and former State Sen. Shadrack McGill.
MCCONNELL STATEMENT OF CANDIDACY
ALreporter.com reached out to the McConnell campaign but did not receive a reply by deadline. The campaign spokesperson said they are working on a response.
As promised the McConnell campaign replied to our request for comment stating, “Our CPA/Treasurer is preparing an answer to the FEC’s inquiries, which will be delivered well in advance of the deadline. It was a simple clerical error we are happy to rectify promptly.”
McConnell also accused Sen. Shelby of receiving audit warnings in the past.
