Alaska GOP says Libertarian Senate candidate Joe Miller broke campaign finance laws

The Alaska Republican Party is accusing Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller of breaking federal campaign finance law by using his for-profit news website, JoeMiller.us, as an extension of his campaign. But Miller says he has done nothing wrong.

The Republicans sent their complaint Monday to the Federal Election Commission, underscoring the rift between Miller and the party whose nomination he captured in 2010. In the GOP primary that year, Miller, riding a wave of tea party support, defeated Lisa Murkowski, the incumbent who this year is the Republican nominee.

She came back as a write-in candidate in the 2010 general election, beating both Miller and Democrat Scott McAdams. This year, she's been the subject of a stream of criticism from Miller that began as soon as he entered the race last month.

In Monday's complaint, Alaska GOP chair Tuckerman Babcock said that Miller began using JoeMiller.us, which lists three corporate sponsors, "almost solely as a campaign website" when he filed to run. Since candidates are barred from accepting corporate donations, Miller, by relying on his for-profit website and its links to social media accounts, accepted illegal campaign contributions, Babcock said.

Read more: https://www.adn.com/politics/2016/10/24/alaska-gop-says-libertarian-senate-candidate-joe-miller-broke-campaign-finance-laws/