Conservative super PAC spends $300,000 for Carr

photo Joe Carr, left, and Lamar Alexander

NASHVILLE - A conservative super PAC controlled by a Nashville millionaire pumped nearly $300,000 in independent expenditures into Tennessee's U.S. Senate Republican primary last week, mostly against incumbent Sen. Lamar Alexander.

Federal Election Commission reports filed Thursday and Friday by Andrew Miller's Citizens 4 Ethics in Government show the group spent $250,960 with Princeton, N.J.-based political media firm Jamestown Associates to oppose Alexander.

The group spent $30,000 supporting state Rep. Joe Carr, R-Lascassas, the tea party favorite and Miller friend who is challenging Alexander in the Aug. 7 primary. Some $20,000 of that went to Gill Media, headed by former conservative radio show host Steve Gill.

Gill Media got another $15,000 from Miller's group in support of U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais, who faces tough opposition from in the 4th Congressional District Republican primary.

Miller's PAC already has been on television attacking Alexander.

Earlier in the campaign, the FEC questioned $9,564.54 the Carr campaign reported receiving from a Miller-owned company, Life Watch Pharmacy LLC.

The federal watchdog agency wanted to know if the money was a campaign contribution and asked about the structure of the Life Watch Pharmacy's limited liability corporation.

That's because Miller already had given Carr's campaign $2,600 in direct contributions -- the legal limit for individual contributions-- for the primary and general election.

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Carr said the money was interest on a $200,000 loan his campaign made to Life Watch.

The Tennessean newspaper in Nashville quoted the Center for Public Integrity saying "this is definitely not a common arrangement."

Jamestown Associates, a television, radio and direct mail firm, has been "blacklisted" by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee. It's a favorite of national conservative groups hoping to knock off Republican incumbents on behalf of more conservative challengers.

Citizens 4 Ethics in Government's pre-primary report, which covers the period July 1-18, shows Miller put another $70,000 in the super PAC. His brother, Tracy Miller, loaned the PAC $70,000.

Contact staff writer Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550.

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