NASHVILLE — Republican U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander’s campaign is calling a Federal Election Commission complaint filed by an independent candidate against the senator’s campaign a “silly political stretch.”
Danny Page, a 38-year-old electrician running as a conservative, said Tuesday he is requesting the FEC investigate what he calls the Alexander campaign’s “colluding with the Tennessee State Museum” to boost the senator’s candidacy.
“For Lamar Alexander to use taxpayer money to promote his own campaign is a classic example of the self-serving attitude that he has portrayed throughout his two terms in the U.S. Senate,” Page said in a news release. “Behavior such as this is exactly the reason why Sen. Alexander should not serve another term and why Tennesseans should elect one of their own that will work to build a legacy for the state instead of for himself.”
That’s a reference to the museum’s plans in 2013 to put together a traveling exhibition on Alexander’s tenure as governor.
News organizations raised questions about the timing with Alexander up for re-election in 2014. State Museum Executive Director Lois Riggins-Ezzell said longtime Alexander aide Tom Ingram had agreed to help raise private donations to cover the more than $40,000 cost of the show.