On Saturday, Ohio Republican congressional candidate Christina Hagan’s campaign filed a Federal Election Commission complaint accusing her primary opponent, Anthony Gonzalez, of colluding with a super PAC solely funded by his father over a recently launched ad campaign attacking Hagan.
The super PAC, Conservative Leadership Now PAC, received $100,000 from Gonzalez’s father, Eduardo Gonzalez, and subsequently launched a mailer in the 16th District GOP primary that is nearly identical to that sent out by Gonzalez’s campaign two days later with similar messaging and sources.
It’s a federal offense, according to the FEC, for a super PAC to coordinate with a political candidate or campaign, and vice versa.
Mailer from Conservative Leadership Now PAC
Mailer from Anthony Gonzalez’s campaign
The Hagan campaign alleges that the messaging between the two mailers is not only similar, but that the attacks appear in the same order, specifically when they accuse Hagan of being “appointed to her seat” in addition to voting for “higher taxes” and raising “her own pay.”
“We are calling on the FEC to investigate these claims. Our election process should be protected at all costs and any attempt to undermine our democracy or the rule of law shall be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Hagan Campaign Manager Brian Wollet wrote in the FEC complaint.
“It appears to be more than just a coincidence that Anthony Gonzalez and the super PAC his father is financing is releasing the same style of attack, with the same layout, same messaging, and same sources on the same week. This is a coordinated effort to help buy his son a Congressional seat which is against the law,” Wollet told the Washington Examiner. “If Gonzalez and his father want to spend bonding time together might I suggest throwing a football instead of breaking federal law.”
Gonzalez’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
