WASHINGTON — As the election season wraps up, there are still two senate races not yet decided, with both races in the state of Georgia. The winner of the races will determine who holds the Senate.
Democrats and Republicans both have sent support and campaign dollars to their candidates in the state. With candidates in full swing, the Verify team has received all sorts of questions about the elections and the fund-raising process.
A viewer emailed this question: “Lindsey Graham said he planned to donate $1 million to the Republican candidates in the Georgia Senate runoff. Is it legal to transfer funds raised for his Senate race to other candidates?”
So, let's Verify:
Can Lindsay Graham send $1 million to the Georgia senate races?
Answer:
No, not directly.
Source:
Federal Election Commission on contributions limits.
PROCESS:
No, Lindsay Graham cannot directly give $1 million to a single candidate. There are campaign laws against this.
The statement in question comes from a Fox and Friend's interview with Graham, where he said: “I'm going to donate a million dollars to Senators Loeffler and Perdue from my campaign to make sure they have the resources to combat a tsunami of liberal money about to sink Georgia."
But according to the FEC contribution limits, a candidate’s committee cannot donate more than $2,000 to another candidate.
However, they can make unlimited donations to a state party or to a Super PAC, who can then distribute that money to other candidates. Meaning there are loopholes and ways to still donate large amounts of money.
So we can Verify, no, Lindsay Graham cannot donate $1 million directly to the candidates, but there are easy ways to get around those laws.
