$100,000 Fine Levied Against ’88 Dole Presidential Campaign

Sen. Bob Dole’s 1988 presidential campaign was fined a record $100,000 in civil penalties Friday by the Federal Elections Commission.

The FEC cited several violations, including exceeding state spending limits and accepting too much money from Dole’s political action committee and from individuals. Fines against Campaign America, Dole’s PAC, and other contractors and individuals accounted for another $22,975 in penalties.

The $100,000 civil fine is the largest ever leveled against a presidential campaign committee, FEC spokesman Scott Moxley said.

“It’s ironic that the FEC has already changed many of the rules on which they based this penalty against the campaign committee,” said Dole, a Kansas Republican. “We’ve learned a lot about dealing with federal agencies, and this bureaucratic process is the best example yet of why we don’t need public funding of congressional campaigns.”

According to FEC documents, Dole’s 1988 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination ran afoul of numerous elections laws, including:

* Overspending in the state of Iowa by $304,065 and in New Hampshire by $284,084. The limit, calculated on 16 cents for each resident of voting age, was $775,217 in Iowa and $461,000 in New Hampshire.

* Improperly accepting $64,043 from corporations, which are barred from giving money to federal candidates.

* Spending $41,887 in exploratory funds in Iowa and $5,359 in New Hampshire. The maximum allowed for “testing the waters” research and polling is $5,000 per state.