Treasurer John Kennedy has a comfortable polling lead in the developing U.S. Senate race that could eventually tighten up, but he is also positioned to be a money leader with roughly $3 million or more in his campaign finance account, based on his latest state report from 2015.
The problem is that he cannot use that money to run for the U.S. Senate, but he can transfer it to a sympathetic super PAC, like U.S. Sen. David Vitter did in last year’s governor’s race.
Super PACs are allowed to collected contributions in unlimited amounts.
Sources say Kennedy is prepared to make the financial leap and can argue that the U.S. Supreme Court, multiple federal courts and the District Court in New Orleans made clear there are no restrictions on contributions to super PACs.
While some might counter that state law prohibits such contributions, a defense is ready — that federal constitutional law trumps state law.
The assumption is that the money will be transferred to the Make Louisiana Proud super PAC, which has already been fundraising independently and advocating for Kennedy.