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Is It Legal for Candidates to Spend Millions to Buy Endorsements?

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Here’s a question: is it illegal for Kamala Harris to buy endorsements from top celebrities? Verify This says it’s not illegal. However, aren’t the ethics of it a bit sketchy? Many voters don’t know the candidate bought endorsements. It comes out after the election in the financial disclosures.

If you have enough money, you can pile up endorsements from all the most popular people in the country.

It doesn’t seem like a good ethic for America.

According to VerifyThis, there’s no law against paying people to endorse a political campaign, but candidates must disclose the payment publicly.

A spokesperson told VERIFY, “No provisions in the FEC rules specifically address paid endorsements of federal candidates.”

Campaigns for state or local office are governed by the laws in those jurisdictions, not the FEC, and so may have different requirements depending on where they are.

Federal candidates must legally disclose all payments, including those made in exchange for endorsements. The Federal Election Campaign Act requires campaigns for federal office to file regular reports on where their money comes from and where it goes.

That report has to include the name and address of any “person to whom an expenditure… more than $200… is made… together with the date, amount, and purpose of such… expenditure.”

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12 COMMENTS

  1. Obviously its legal because you won’t see Harris getting into any trouble for doing it. How can the average citizen run for office when he would be outspent by deep pocket competition?

  2. I, personally, don’t care if endorsement are paid for. During the last election, Kamala spend billions of dollars and the endorsements backfired. The needle moved very little and actually, in some casss, hurt the candidate. This reminds me of the old saying, “He/she/other” has the best friends money can buy.”

  3. Technically they are not buying votes, they are buying influence. If a candidate went to your house and gave you a $100 to vote for them and you did, that would be buying your vote or bribery. Campaign promises are more like gambling, a vote for the possibility of a promise.

    Convincing or paying someone to support you is not illegal but it does favor the candidate with the most cash. That alone doesn’t guarantee a win, example: Kamala. That’s the risk. Because at the end of day it’s the not the supporter you are voting for. So if you are dumb enough to vote for someone based on a paid endorsement you probably were going to vote for the wrong person anyway.

  4. It doesn’t matter. If the brainless masses didn’t listen to their Goddess Swift, there is still hope for the country.

  5. Sounds like FEC violations and fraud for mislabeling expenses, saying they were for services when in fact is was for the endorsement. That’s fraud. No services were rendered. Prosecute them for fraudulent FEC filings.

  6. “I get that endorsements can help boost a campaign, but spending millions feels like overkill. Can’t we just stick to good old-fashioned campaigning?””I get that endorsements can help boost a campaign, but spending millions feels like overkill. Can’t we just stick to good old-fashioned campaigning?”

  7. “Is it just me, or does it feel a bit sketchy for candidates to throw around cash for endorsements? Like, shouldn’t the support be genuine?”

  8. The huge amount of money made available to candidates invites corrupt elections. Take the money out of politics and you might get what the founders imagined.

  9. I don’t care if they spend donors cash that way, but, like it said, they have to publicly announce that person/organization has been paid to endorse, to include any donations the candidate has made to that person/organization and their affiliates. I do think though that if you are already in the administration it should be illegal for you to use government funded transportation and everything else that comes with the position. That needs to be paid for by the candidate and their pay should be docked for anytime they are on the campaign trail.

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