The Wyoming Secretary of State’s office is reviewing multiple complaints filed by a Teton County lawmaker Wednesday regarding contributions to several gubernatorial campaigns allegedly exceeding the legal limit an individual can give to a statewide candidate per election.
Jackson Democratic Rep. Mike Yin filed three separate complaints against the Constitution Party’s Rebecca Bextel, as well as Brent Bien and Megan Degenfelder, two Republicans defeated in August’s primary election. Wyoming state law limits individuals from giving more than $2,500 – including in-kind donations like services or campaign assistance – to a statewide candidate per an election. The primary and general are considered separate elections.
Yin alleges that Bextel, Bien and Degenfelder all filed campaign finance reports with the Secretary of State’s office that include contributions from individuals that exceed that limit. “For Ms. Bextel, whose election is still ahead, I ask for the fix the law allows: give the extra money back, and correct the report before people finish voting,” Yin said in a statement. “For Mr. Bien and Ms. Degenfelder, the primary is over, and a refund cannot take back the advantage those campaigns carried into it over candidates who followed the rules. In those cases, I asked the Secretary of State to refer the largest entries to the Attorney General, who decides whether a penalty is warranted.”
Secretary of State Chuck Gray confirmed his office had received the complaints and is currently evaluating them according to Wyoming law. “Secretary Gray has said that election integrity is the core mission of his office,” Yin said in a statement. “Under the law, these complaints land on his desk first, and he decides whether they go to the Attorney General. Campaign finance limits are part of that mission, and I trust his office will act on these before Tuesday.”
Degenfelder denied any wrongdoing, while Bien said he was reviewing his campaign finances. Both say that donations may have been inadvertently duplicated in the state’s campaign finance reporting system. Bextel did not respond to multiple requests for comment by publishing time.
The reports are filed and available to the public, but they are not reviewed unless an election complaint is filed. That’s because the secretary of state’s office does not automatically audit campaign finance reports. Errors are not uncommon.
Bextel complaint According to the campaign finance report Bextel filed Tuesday, Susan Gore of Cheyenne contributed $4,000 across four donations while John Warren of Cordova, Alabama gave $3,000 across six donations. Reached by phone Thursday, Warren told a reporter he is Bextel’s father and was under the impression that Wyoming law does not limit how much a candidate’s immediate family can give to their campaign. Warren’s understanding is correct, though Bextel did not include her father’s donations in the immediate family portion of her report.
Bextel, who reported raising a total of $89,000, reportedly told Cowboy State Daily this week she would “soon be filing an amended report reflecting a much higher fundraising figure, at about $500,000.” Tuesday marked the deadline for candidates to file their campaign finance reports ahead of Tuesday’s general election. State law allows for amendments in instances where additional contributions or expenditures occur after filing, or if inaccuracies are found.
“Additional statements shall be filed within a reasonable time not to exceed 30 days from the time the inaccuracies or additional contributions or expenditures became known,” according to the election code. Bextel amended her report Thursday, according to the secretary of state’s website. However, the amendment did not add contributions, but instead deleted a $500 donation from Warren. The secretary of state’s website did not show additional amendments by publishing time.
Gore, a conservative donor and Gore-Tex heiress, could not be reached by publishing time. Bien compla
