COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose violated federal election laws by illegally running a campaign without registering as a candidate, a new complaint filed by a Cleveland-area Republican alleges.
Being held accountable isn't partisan — at least, that's what lifelong Cleveland Republican Ralph King believes.
"This isn't about left or right," King told News 5. "This is about right or wrong."
He filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission, claiming LaRose has been raising funds as a U.S. Senate candidate without officially filing.
"If anybody's supposed to know the rules of campaign financing and what candidates are allowed to do and not allowed to do, it should be Frank LaRose," he said about Ohio's chief of elections.
LaRose filed to run for U.S. Senate in July, but the complaint cites fundraisers months before that.
"He's trying to raise money, as much money as he can outside the FEC campaign fundraising guidelines so he doesn't have to report it," King said.
The Federal Election Campaign Act creates a limit to donations. Depending on the type of Political Action Committee (PAC), it can donate up to $3,300 or $5,000 per candidate committee. Individuals can donate up to $5,000 to a candidate committee.
In May, News 5 broke the story that LaRose was sending out fundraising requests of $5,000 that some voters felt looked like official state business. He did this with the Leadership for Ohio Fund, a political group.
Leadership for Ohio Fund just changed its designation. While it was working with LaRose, it was a 527 business entity. Days before LaRose announced his candidacy, Leadership for Ohio filed to become a super PAC.
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Case Western Reserve University elections law professor Atiba Ellis spoke with News 5 then, saying it was legal for him to do so since he wasn’t declared.
News 5 checked back in with Ellis now that LaRose is officially a candidate. He said although it may give the appearance of impropriety, it would be very difficult to prove.
"It's hard to get at evidence that Secretary LaRose was campaigning or acting like a candidate behind closed doors," Ellis said.
The FEC also allows for limited political engagement before candidates officially file — the “testing the waters” period.
WCPO affiliate News 5 in Cleveland reached out to LaRose, but did not get a response.
However, he talked to other media.
“We very carefully follow the rules as written and I have a great compliance team to make sure that we’ve done that,” LaRose told The Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com.
Even if this isn't violating the law, which it is unclear if it does or not, the whole appearance does raise red flags, Ellis said.
"It looks like playing fast and loose with the law, even though the technicalities might have been met," the professor said.
For King, this isn’t the type of leader he wants to see in D.C. He assured News 5's Morgan Trau he wasn’t asked by either of LaRose’s competitors to file against him.
"If they don't respect it as a candidate, how can we expect them to respect that and follow the rules when they're an elected official?" King asked.
The FEC can't comment on the matter, but these cases typically take years to resolve. It's possible the race will be over by the time there is a ruling.
