Cuccinelli OKs Hurt fundraising

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has concluded that Sen. Robert Hurt, R-Chatham, is allowed to accept campaign contributions during the General Assembly session for Hurt’s campaign to win the GOP nomination against U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Ivy.

Virginia law prohibits state lawmakers from raising money during the legislative session. Cuccinelli opined, however, that Hurt would be allowed to raise campaign cash during the session because Hurt is running for federal office.

“It is my opinion that [Virginia law] precludes members of the General Assembly from engaging in fundraising activity in connection with a campaign for state office during a regular session of the General Assembly,” Cuccinelli, a Republican, wrote in his first official opinion as attorney general. “However, it is my further opinion that such prohibition does not restrict fundraising activity related to a campaign for federal office. Finally, it is my opinion that federal law preempts Virginia’s fundraising prohibition when a General Assembly member solicits or accepts contributions solely for a federal office.”

Hurt’s campaign strategist, Chris LaCivita, said Hurt now will begin fundraising during the legislative session, which is under way in Richmond and wraps up in mid-March.

“It says pretty clearly that you can raise money during the General Assembly session, so we’re going to do it,” LaCivita said.

Hurt’s opponents in the seven-way GOP primary race have criticized the idea, saying it skirts the spirit of state ethics laws and raises the possibility that Richmond lobbyists could attempt to influence Hurt on specific bills during the legislative session.

“Although it may be legal, it certainly isn’t ethical,” said Laurence Verga, a private real estate investor from Ivy and one of Hurt’s rivals in the June 8 primary. “The American people are tired of career politicians like Sen. Hurt who put their personal aspirations above their ethical obligations.”

Verga said the intent of the 1997 law that forbids Virginia lawmakers from accepting contributions was to “prevent lobbyists from buying votes.”

“[Hurt’s] current position will simply allow special interest groups to influence his voting through donations to his congressional campaign account,” Verga said in a statement. “If Hurt wishes to be ethical, then he will respect the law’s intent and reverse his unfortunate decision.”

LaCivita disputed strongly the suggestion that contributors to Hurt’s congressional campaign might unduly influence the lawmaker.

“Robert Hurt is as honest as the day is long,” he said. “I dare anybody to say anything different. … Robert Hurt is a man of integrity before the legislative session, during the legislative session and after the legislative session.”

Larry J. Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said Hurt’s decision to accept money during the session was a calculated risk. Hurt will face some criticism, Sabato said, but Hurt has only five months to go before the GOP primary in what is shaping up to be an expensive contest.

“What the attorney general’s opinion establishes is that it is legal for Hurt to raise money for federal office during a legislative session,” Sabato said. “That makes sense to me because federal campaign finance law, which governs congressional fundraising, would take precedence over any state law on the subject. But obviously, this won’t stop the controversy. Hurt’s opponents will still attack him for what, in their view, is a violation of the spirit of the state law. Hurt’s campaign has decided that the criticism is worth enduring in order to raise the cash necessary to be competitive.”

Hurt is not the first sitting Virginia lawmaker to raise money for a federal campaign during the General Assembly session. In 2008, Del. Bob Marshall, R-Manassas, accepted nearly $25,000 from donors to his unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. Senate during the legislative session, Federal Election Commission reports show.

In his opinion, Cuccinelli cited a similar case in which a sitting member of Georgia’s General Assembly was running for the U.S. Senate and wanted to raise money for the federal campaign. The Federal Election Commission issued an advisory opinion that federal election law preempted a Georgia state ban on such activity. The FEC’s opinion was later upheld in federal court.

“Under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution of the United States, when a state law conflicts with a federal law that the federal law had proper constitutional authority to promulgate, state law must give way,” Cuccinelli wrote.

Cuccinelli issued his opinion on political fundraising at Hurt’s request. Hurt’s strategist, LaCivita, was a top consultant on Cuccinelli’s successful campaign for attorney general in 2009.