This GOP hopeful’s 'money trail' may reveal a 'forbidden form of political incest': report
04 January 2024
In a Thursday, January 4 Daily Beast exclusive, senior researcher William Bredderman and senior political reporter Roger Sullenberger report Washington State congressional candidate Joe Kent's (R) relationship to a super PAC supporting his candidacy likely violate campaign finance laws.
Bredderman and Sullenberger note Kent previously lost the 2022 election to Democratic Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez, but is running again this year.
Per the report, "A Daily Beast analysis of filings with the Federal Election Commission found potential overlap in payments between the Kent campaign" and the super PAC, which "involves top Kent aide and strident election denier Matt Braynard, a longtime adviser to the candidate who has spoken on the campaign's behalf as recently as October."
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Although "Kent has tried to distance himself from Braynard — a white nationalist — the Beast notes, "the money trail suggests not only that the two men remain tight, but that they’re so close that the relationship may have crossed into a forbidden form of political incest."
The main issue, according to the report, "is whether the Kent campaign and super PAC have improperly coordinated—and whether Braynard ever took the mandated time required between his stint on the official campaign and his supposed role at the super PAC supporting Kent. Bredderman and Sullenberger emphasize, "Federal law bars such groups from coordinating."
The pair report:
Braynard told Talking Points Memo in September that he stopped working for the Kent campaign in November 2022. But that may coincide with another role Braynard took on.
According to FEC records, a company registered by Braynard’s wife at their shared address, called 'QUB Consulting,' has received tens of thousands of dollars from the pro-Kent super PAC 'Pacific Northwest Political Action Committee.' The payments started just days before the November 2022 election.
Federal law requires campaign staff and vendors to take a 120-day 'cooling off' period before they can begin working with a super PAC. But it's unclear if Braynard ever took that break—he was still fielding campaign comments one day after the super PAC paid QUB $22,000 for a text message blast—and it’s unclear if he ever stopped working for Kent.
Director of the watchdog Campaign Legal Center, Saurav Ghosh, told the news outlet "that the overlap suggests impermissible coordination between the campaign and the super PAC." He said, "If this company [QUB] is Braynard and he was serving as campaign staffer, it’s hard to imagine he could do that without running afoul of campaign finance rules."
The Daily Beast's full report is here (subscription required).