Politics & Government

GOP Says Shaheen Tried to 'Subvert Campaign Finance Law'

Political ad wars start to heat up in New Hampshire.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee is accusing U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of trying to "subvert campaign finance law," alleging that her campaign and the Senate Majority's PAC coordinated messaging in an ad attacking Republican Scott Brown.

UPDATE: NH GOP filed a complaint with FEC on the subject on April 28. Read the complaint here.

Such "coordinated communications" is prohibited, but the NRSC says the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee tweeted out messaging linking to a page on Shaheen's website with a script one would expect to see in ads run by outside groups.

Shaheen's campaign says no such coordinated communication occurred. Harrell Kirstein, a spokesman for Shaheen, further tells New Hampshire Public Radio that the messaging in question is nothing new, it is highlighting Brown's support for the oil industry when he served in the Senate as a Republican from Massachusetts.

Kirstein, in an email statement, had this to say about the GOP complaint:

"On a day when Scott Brown was under fire for revealing he'd been giving phony answers about when he decided to run for Senate, it's no surprise that Republicans are filing a phony complaint. It has no merit and is entirely false. The truth is Scott Brown has been under attack for years for coddling Big Oil and Wall Street and cashing in on those connections."

Brown, who officially entered the U.S. Senate race April 7, faces a GOP primary against Jim Rubens, Bob Smith and Karen Testerman. He continues to focus on Shaheen, and both candidates and outside groups are plunking down serious money on political advertising.


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