NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday October 15, 2007
How much does it cost Tim Bee to explore?
Tim Bee is raising money like a federal candidate, even as his claims to be “exploring” grow more disingenuous by the day, Arizona Democrats said today.
Like every other candidate for federal office, Bee announced today what he has raised in campaign contributions: $134,000.
State Republican Rep. Russell Pearce told his constituents he will need $25,000 to decide whether he should run for Congress. (http://www.pearce2008.com)
“Why would it cost Tim Bee so much more to explore?” said Emily Bittner, communications director for the Arizona Democratic Party. “Exploring costs about the same everywhere. The only reason I can imagine is that he’s stockpiling that money for his Congressional campaign. At this point, he’s insulting the intelligence of all the voters in his district. And he’s doing a disservice to the entire state of Arizona, which he is sworn to serve.”
According to the Federal Elections Commission:
An individual may conduct a variety of testing-the-waters activities. Certain activities, however, indicate that an individual has decided to become a candidate and is no longer merely testing the waters. Under these circumstances, the testing-the-waters exemption would no longer apply. For example, the exemption does not apply if the individual:Raises funds in excess of amounts reasonably required for exploratory activity or amasses funds to be used after candidacy is established;
In contrast, Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords resigned her state Senate seat to run for Congress. In this quarter, Giffords raised $257,000.