PAC under fire for fundraising off hypothetical McCain challenger

A conservative PAC is coming under fire for asking Republican donors to send cash to help Rep. Matt Salmon defeat Sen. John McCain in Arizona’s 2016 GOP primary.

The problem, GOP critics say: There may not even be a Salmon run for the Senate.

{mosads}Conservative America Now and its founders have no official ties with Salmon. Under federal election laws, it’s illegal for the PAC to coordinate with the conservative congressman.

But the New York-based group recently blasted 300,000 emails to its database of GOP donors, asking them to pledge between $25 and $1,000 to send Salmon to the Senate. The email’s subject line: “Unseating John McCain.”

“Arizona’s Senior Senator Is Out of Touch With Conservatives!” blared the email’s headline, alongside a photo of Salmon. The Hill obtained a copy of the email, which also stated, “Congressman Matt Salmon Is A Conservative Patriot Who Can Defeat John McCain!”

A Salmon spokesman had no comment about the email campaign. Salmon himself recently told The Hill he’s happy to be serving in the House, though other sources said he’s taking a close look at the Senate race.

Apparently that was enough to unleash a tidal wave of emails from Conservative America Now, which has also launched a similar online campaign.

However, one GOP strategist who received the email said it smacked of “intellectual dishonesty,” even though he conceded the PAC wasn’t breaking any campaign finance laws. 

“Any recipient would be left with the impression that 1) Salmon has agreed to run against McCain in the primary and 2) that the group is somehow affiliated with Salmon,” said the strategist, who is neither employed by Salmon or McCain. “Both of those are not true.

“This is a deliberate effort to fundraise off of the appearance of proximity when none truly exists,” the strategist continued. “It seems there are just a number of entities out there that just want to make money and enrich themselves.”

Tyler Whitney, the PAC’s treasurer, said the purpose of the email campaign is to get an “early start” for a Salmon run. Money raised now will be spent on advertising and voter outreach efforts during the primary, he said. If Salmon doesn’t jump in, the funds will be used to back the candidate “most in line with his conservative policies,” Whitney said.

“Matt Salmon is a true conservative that is in line with our mission of less spending and smaller government. We want to do everything possible to support him,” Whitney said when asked about criticism aimed at his group.

“It is intellectually dishonest to call John McCain a conservative.”

The email says donors can make their checks out to an address in Alexandria, Va. That is the home address of DB Capitol Strategies, a firm founded by Dan Backer that provides counsel to a network of more than 30 PACs and political organizations.

A recent Politico story said another Backer-affiliated PAC had launched an email fundraising campaign when former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush took to Facebook to announce he was eyeing a presidential run. The PAC, Conservative Action Fund, blasted an email to donors soliciting money: “TELL MITT ROMNEY: SIT 2016 OUT.”