NASHVILLE – Republican gubernatorial candidate Zach Wamp, who lost the GOP gubernatorial primary on Aug. 5, can pay off his $425,000 primary debt using leftover campaign funds that may have been designated for the general election, a state official said today.
Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance Executive Director Drew Rawlins said that, while Wamp could not use such funds during the primary, “after the general election’s over that money becomes excess.”
“The law specifically states you can give it back to the contributors,” Rawlin said. “You can pay off loans. You can give it to charities, you can give it to the party. Those are the big ones [categories].”
Wamp and congressional and former campaign aides did not respond to inquiries about the latest disclosure and loans on Monday afternoon and evening.
The Chattanooga congressman’s third-quarter disclosure, filed Monday, shows Wamp took out a $339,000 loan from First Tennessee Bank on July 29 and a second loan of $25,000 from First Tennessee on Aug. 5. He previously had taken out a $61,000 loan on Sept. 30, 2009, also from First Tennessee.
He reported a cash balance of $725,151 on Sept. 30. It was unclear how much of the money stemmed from contributions designated for the Nov. 2 general election.
But the Associated Press reported in early August that, of the $783,848 Wamp had on hand as of July 26, only $56,573 was available to him because the rest was designated for the general election.
Candidates often also collect contributions for the general election during their primary contests.
Rawlins explained that state laws “restrict it until after the general election so you couldn’t move it to another candidate.”
For complete details, see tomorrow’s Times Free Press.