Hart Files With FEC to Obtain Campaign Aid

Gary Hart’s revived Democratic presidential campaign has filed with the Federal Elections Commission for matching federal campaign funds, the agency said today.

Hart’s campaign, resurrected last week, resubmitted to the FEC paper work on contributions of $141,285, well over the $100,000 triggering threshold. The FEC must first certify that Hart is eligible for matching funds--which come from a pool provided by the $1 federal income tax form checkoff--before he could receive any of the federal assistance.

Federal campaign law requires that a candidate, to be eligible for matching funds, raise a total of $100,000, with at least $5,000 raised in contributions of $250 or less in 20 states.

The next pay-out date for the matching funds is Jan. 1, and an FEC spokeswoman said the commission staff, which is now plowing through matching fund paper work submitted by Jesse Jackson’s Democratic campaign, would try to get Hart’s certification processed before the pay-out date but there was no guarantee it could be finished in time. The initial matching funds pay-out for candidates is $100,000.

Once certified, a candidate can keep submitting contribution lists to continue to receive additional matching funds. Hart aides say that in his case, if the FEC decides contributions made before his May departure from the race can be used to generate matching funds, he could get about $1.1 million.