Mississippi Lt. Governor Candidate Hughes Sidesteps Campaign Finance Reform Law He Pushed for in 2017
Rep. Jay Hughes, D-Oxford (Photo: Rogelio V. Solis, AP)
Mississippi lieutenant governor candidate Jay Hughes filed a campaign finance report Thursday that appeared to violate a reform law he pushed for two years ago.
The Democratic state representative's report showed 14 payments totaling more than $100,000 to a credit card company, UBS Visa. But the form did not itemize what had been paid for using the credit card or cards — a central requirement of the campaign finance reform bill that passed the Legislature in 2017 and took effect last year.
The reform came after an investigative series by The Clarion Ledger, "Public Office/Private Gain," showed how the state's lax enforcement of campaign finance laws has created a tax-free second income for many Mississippi politicians, mostly funded by special interests.
After Mississippi lawmakers were caught reporting unitemized credit card charges to their campaign accounts, an official who pushed for reform flouted a new law and used the same maneuvers to rack up more than $100,000 in expenses, Luke Ramseth reported for the Jackson Clarion Ledger.
