Questions raised about donations for Shurtleff

Attorney General Mark Shurtleff again is showing prowess in raising some types of big political donations, but not the types allowed by law to flow directly into his race for the U.S. Senate.

In disclosure reports posted online Friday by the Federal Election Commission, he said he raised $88,000 last month at a joint fundraiser (where donors went shotgun shooting with him) for both his Senate campaign and his Political Action Committee for Utah's Future.

However, many of the donations there came in amounts larger than would be allowed if they had been made solely and directly to Shurtleff's Senate campaign.

PACs are limited by federal law to give no more than $5,000 for a Senate convention race. But at Shurtleff's joint fundraiser, Success Multimedia donated $25,000; NuSkin International gave $20,000; EnergySolutions gave $10,000; and USANA Health Sciences gave $10,000.

Shurtleff's joint fundraising committee said it plans to split proceeds from that fundraiser so that 11 percent goes to Shurtleff's Senate campaign and 89 percent goes to his PAC. Shurtleff said he hired the former head of the Federal Election Commission as an attorney to ensure everything is done legally.

But Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, has questioned whether Shurtleff's PAC may be using spending to benefit his Senate race with donations not allowed in federal races.

Bennett raised such questions after a report in September showed Shurtleff's state PAC had raised and spent $250,000 this year on items often related to campaigns, but which the PAC also spent just over $58,000. It would have $115,700 in the bank, after paying outstanding debts.

One problem with the $100,000 Shurtleff's campaign raised is that $25,000 of it was designated for the primary or general campaigns, coming from donors who already gave the maximum for his convention race. So Shurtleff cannot use that money unless he makes it through the convention to the primary and potentially the general elections.

Bennett raised $390,200 in the quarter, about four times more than Shurtleff. Amounts raised by others in the race in the quarter include Republican Cherilyn Eagar, $21,703; Republican James Russell Williams III, $4,318; and Democrat Sam Granato, $19,598.

Republican Tim Bridgewater joined the race Thursday and did not need to file disclosure forms for the previous quarter.

Disclosure forms were due to the FEC on Oct. 15, but it takes the FEC several days to receive mailed copies, scan them and put them online. Almost all candidates provided copies of their disclosure forms before the FEC posted them. However, Shurtleff's campaign declined to do so. His forms finally appeared online Friday.

Despite the fundraising lead by Bennett and his spending more than $500,000 in the last quarter, Shurtleff's campaign manager Jason Powers said, "In the convention cycle, it's not as expensive as a regular cycle, so we're sitting good."

e-mail: lee@desnews.com