Democratic gubernatorial candidates Steve Fulop and Mikie Sherrill are engaged in a heated dispute over campaign spending. Fulop’s campaign has accused Sherrill of improperly using funds from her congressional campaign account to support her gubernatorial candidacy. Specifically, the Fulop campaign claims that Sherrill used the funds for digital ads, Christmas cards, and an event at the New Jersey League of Municipalities’ conference.
The Fulop campaign has requested an audit of Sherrill’s campaign account and is pushing for the expenditures to be counted against the matching funds she can receive from the state’s gubernatorial public financing program. Sherrill’s campaign manager, Alex Ball, has dismissed Fulop’s allegations as an attempt to mislead voters and argues that they demonstrate a lack of understanding of campaign finance laws. Both Fulop and Sherrill have qualified for matching funds.
The dispute centers around whether the ads and expenditures made by Sherrill’s congressional campaign should be considered coordinated expenditures for her gubernatorial campaign and subject to spending limits. The Election Law Enforcement Commission will have to determine whether the ads and Christmas cards were coordinated expenditures that exceeded the contribution cap for gubernatorial candidates. This recent conflict adds to the drama of the gubernatorial race in New Jersey, as candidates navigate the complex landscape of campaign finance regulations.
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