The Idaho Secretary of State’s office says a new complaint into a Republican gubernatorial candidate’s campaign finances was resolved long ago.
The Spokesman-Review reports that Taso Kinnas, a former treasurer for the Idahoans for Liberty PAC, filed a complaint Thursday with the secretary of state targeting Boise businessman and first-time gubernatorial candidate Tommy Ahlquist.
According to Kinnas, campaign finance records show Ahlquist spent more than $40,000 of his own campaign funds before filing as a political candidate. Tim Hurst, deputy secretary of state, says the office looked into that spending activity earlier this year and concluded Ahlquist did nothing wrong. Hurst says Ahlquist’s campaign contacted Secretary of State Lawerence Denney prior to spending the funds and was told Ahlquist didn’t need to file as a political candidate because Ahlquist was using his money.
Hurst added that Idaho law is unclear if candidates must file before spending their own money for a campaign. (Spokesman-Review, AP)
