The campaign of Republican congressional candidate Keith Fimian has partnered with a committee based out of Athens, Georgia, campaign finance records show.
In a filing this week, Fimian authorized the “VA-11 Congressional Victory Committee” to receive and expend funds on behalf of his candidacy.
The committee is associated with a group called Reverse the Vote, which was formed in 2009 to target 24 members of the House who voted for health care reform, including Fimian’s opponent, Gerry Connolly. The address for the “Reverse the Vote Victory Committee” is listed as 264 N. Lumpkin St. #202 in Athens, Ga.
The larger group distributed about $7,400 to each of 24 “Congressional Victory Committees” — including the one for Virginia’s 11th District — on Sept. 15, campaign finance records show.
The committee, though, has only raised about $200,000 this year — small potatoes in a campaign season that’s seen California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman throw more than $140 million of her own money into her campaign. It is now in the process of shutting down, as all funds have been dispersed, according to the committee.
Fimian’s camp is not creating a separate political committee, rather, the filing merely signifies a joint fundraising agreement, said Fimian campaign manager Tim Edson. The arrangement does not violate campaign finance laws, but it does shed light on an effort from outsiders to influence a tight local race.
“Basically, this is a pretty standard practice,” Edson said. “That committee is separate from us.”
The cash amounts are relatively small — Fimian’s campaign raised more than $1 million last quarter — but donations from third parties and out-of-state groups have played a significant role this election season.
The conservative American Action Network bought nearly $1 million in ads targeting Connolly.
On the other side of the race, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee just released a new online ad targeting the business record of Fimian, the founder and chairman of a home inspection company.
“The race is going to be close, but I think no closer than anyone anticipated,” said Jesse Ferguson, a spokesman for the DCCC. “Folks are starting to put a focus on who Keith Fimian is and how extreme his agenda really is.”
Andy Ser?, a spokesman for the National Republican Campaign Committee, said that race has been a bit overlooked for a while, but that people are starting to wake up to the fact that it’s a seat that could switch from blue to red this cycle.
