Conservative group asks FEC to probe effort to promote spoiler candidates

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A secretive group that recruited Donald Trump supporters to run as third-party spoiler candidates in some of the nation’s most competitive congressional districts was accused of violating campaign finance law. That’s according to a complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission Tuesday by the conservative group Americans for Public Trust. Patriots Run Project, which is the focus of the complaint, was the subject of a recent Associated Press article, which detailed how operatives scouted conservative candidates, aided their efforts to qualify for the ballot —  and spent considerable resources doing so. Some aspects could be traced to Democrats. The complaint accused Patriots Run Project of breaking federal law because the organization didn’t register a political committee.