Trevor Potter Comments on the Pre-Campaign Campaign and Raising Money
03.24.2015
The Daily Beast
Trevor Potter spoke with The Daily Beast concerning the issue of wannabe presidential candidates' refusal to officially start their campaigns in an effort to increase their fundraising options for as long as possible. For more on the story, please visit The Daily Beast's website.
Excerpt taken from the article.
I reached former commissioner and chairman of the Federal Election Commission, Trevor Potter, by phone on Monday. He explained that "the reason these people running for president are trying to avoid saying they're candidates is that they have much looser regulatory schemes if they're not candidates."
"Put differently, they have access to a much broader array of money and they don't have to disclose the sources of that if they are not candidates."
. . .
"It's kind of a chicken-and-egg situation," Potter said. As in, what came first: the declaration of a candidacy, or the candidate-like behavior?
"There are rules for what money may be used to run for president: only individual contributions up to only $2,700 per person. Whereas people who are not running for president and merely going around the country giving speeches and meeting people can use almost any source of money, in any amount, with no disclosure. So that puts a premium on staying outside of the election system for as long as possible."
. . .
I asked Potter if the pre-campaign campaign system was basically "a huge scam," to which he enthusiastically replied "Yes!"
Excerpt taken from the article.
I reached former commissioner and chairman of the Federal Election Commission, Trevor Potter, by phone on Monday. He explained that "the reason these people running for president are trying to avoid saying they're candidates is that they have much looser regulatory schemes if they're not candidates."
"Put differently, they have access to a much broader array of money and they don't have to disclose the sources of that if they are not candidates."
. . .
"It's kind of a chicken-and-egg situation," Potter said. As in, what came first: the declaration of a candidacy, or the candidate-like behavior?
"There are rules for what money may be used to run for president: only individual contributions up to only $2,700 per person. Whereas people who are not running for president and merely going around the country giving speeches and meeting people can use almost any source of money, in any amount, with no disclosure. So that puts a premium on staying outside of the election system for as long as possible."
. . .
I asked Potter if the pre-campaign campaign system was basically "a huge scam," to which he enthusiastically replied "Yes!"
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