The Montana Republican Party has filed a complaint against Democratic Attorney General Steve Bullock, alleging that he has violated campaign finance laws by “collecting cash in an undesignated political account.” The allegations are based on the Statement of Candidate form Bullock filled out in 2009, in which the GOP claims he left blank the section that asks for a “complete description of office sought.” And based on the copy of the form posted on the GOP’s website, he did.
Montana Republican Party Chairman Will Deschamps says Bullock has created “a giant slush fund for his own personal promotion.” He alleges that the attorney general has raised $73,175 and spent $17,713 on things like travel, printing and postage.
It is widely believed that Bullock will run for governor in 2012. His communications director Kevin O’Brien registered the domain “BullockForGovernor.com” in February, but he also said no decision has yet been made about his boss’s future plans.
Either way, if the attorney general did fill out a Statement of Candidate form and left such an obvious section blank, he will need to explain why.
UPDATE: The Associated Press has moved a short story on the complaint.