Sen. DeMint hit with FEC fine over contributions

Federal Election
Commissioners have approved an agreement by which Sen. Jim DeMint’s (R-S.C.)
campaign will pay a $25,000 fine for accepting contributions above
legal limits, according to files made public Friday.

The freshman
senator, who has emerged as a leading conservative voice, accepted $68,000 in
excessive contributions during his 2004 bid to replace ex-Sen. Ernest
“Fritz” Hollings (D-S.C.). 

{mosads}Most of the
contributions, made during the primary and runoff elections, could have been
applied to the general election, though federal law requires donors to be
notified of such an application. DeMint’s campaign could not locate those
notifications, according to the FEC complaint.

The committee also
failed to file nearly two dozen notices of contributions in excess of $1,000,
mostly in advance of the primary runoff in which DeMint faced former South
Carolina Gov. David Beasley (R). Contributions of that size made within
about three weeks of the election must be reported within 48 hours. 

Attorneys for the
DeMint campaign said the period requiring 48-hour notices for the runoff began
before the primary, when three strong candidates remained in the race. DeMint
secured his spot in the runoff by just 1 percent, beating out former South
Carolina State Treasurer Thomas Ravenel (R) by a mere 4,000 votes.

DeMint’s campaign
agreed to pay the fine and refund $5,000 in contributions above the limit.

The FEC also
released judgments against Kalyn Free, who ran for the Democratic nomination in
Oklahoma’s 2nd District in 2004, and against Suzanne Haik Terrell (R), who
narrowly lost a 2002 challenge to Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.). 

The judgment
against Terrell requires the candidate’s committee to refund more than $625,000
in contributions and pay a fine of $42,543 for accepting illegal corporate
contributions. Several individuals will pay fines ranging from $2,500 to $8,000
for their roles in the campaign.