Republican candidate for Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District Mark Houck has run afoul of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) just days after announcing his challenge for the seat held by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick.
Houck’s campaign has received a complaint from the FEC for campaigning for federal office in violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 and FEC regulations.
The Act and Commission regulations require federal candidates to include disclaimers on campaign materials and solicitations for campaign contributions. Houck’s website failed to comply with the requirements, while his campaign committee as failed to establish a bank or other depository for campaign contributions that meets FEC requirements.
The complaint specified that the campaign website included links for donation through which individuals were invited to make contributions in support of Houck via Paypal or using their credit or debit cards. The page does not clarify that donations will go to “Mark Houck for Congress,” rather stating they will go to “Mark Houck.”
FEC regulations also require committees to collect information from contributors whose aggregate totals exceed $200 in an election cycle, such as mailing address, occupation and name of their employer. Houck’s website did not require this information.
Political committees such as “Mark Houck for Congress” also must establish a bank account at a national or state bank or a FDIC- or NCUA-insured institution for the deposit of receipts and making disbursements. This ensures that committee funds are kept separate from personal funds. Houck’s official FEC Statement of Organization only lists “Paypal” as the institution.
An investigation against Houck and his campaign committee is currently underway.
Since the complaint was filed on August 27, Houck’s website has been updated to reflect some of the required FEC information.
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2 Responses
Maybe he did intend for the donations to go directly to Mark Houck, not some campaign. After all, he is GOP and maybe a MAGA grifter.
Sounds like amateur hour at the Houck campaign.