The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) has fined the Washington state Republican Party $5,000 for committing four campaign finance and political advertising violations.
According to the PDC, the commission determined that the state Republican Party made an illegal contribution to a political committee, accepted anonymous contributions that exceed state limits, delayed reporting expenditures until after the 2023 election, and failed to include sponsor identification on a text message advocating against a candidate for the Northshore School Board before the 2023 election.
In an announcement Wednesday, the PDC said that its staff filed administrative charges against the state Republican Party this month.
According to the PDC, its staff found the party transferred $100,000 from the party’s exempt fund to the Let's Go Washington ballot measure committee for “unallowed activities.”
The PDC also found that the state Republican Party failed to disclose contributions in the 2024 election cycle and deposited over-limit anonymous contributions. According to the PDC, the party deposited $106,500 in “anonymous” contributions on Sept. 17, which exceeded a cap of $500 or 1% of their total contributions that can be attributed to anonymous sources.
“The party amended its report to disclose the contributors a couple of days before the hearing,” the PDC stated. “If a political committee knows the source of a contribution, it cannot be hidden from the public as ‘anonymous,’ even if the amount falls within the $500 or 1 percent limitation.”
The $5,000 penalty includes $1,000 suspended on condition that the party meets several conditions, including the transfer of $100,000 from its non-exempt fund to its exempt fund to reimburse the illegal expenditure.
In a statement, GOP Chair and state Rep. Jim Walsh said the party “always cooperates with the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) and supports transparency at all levels of campaign finance.”
“Recently, the PDC reached some hasty conclusions about a grab-bag of minor WAGOP projects. The timing of these hasty conclusions is worth noting — right around the general election,” Walsh said. “The WAGOP will consider all options in responding to the PDC’s conclusions, as allowed by law and tradition. But there’s no need to match haste with haste. For the next few days, the WAGOP is focused on winning elections.”
