This article originally appeared in the Boston Globe on January 10, 2023 and was written by Steph Machado and Edward Fitzpatrick.   

John Marion, the executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island, said the FEC’s coordination rules and enforcement are “quite weak.”

“That is why we see Tweets like the one from the Super PAC that is supporting Sabina Matos sent that are just so blatant,” Marion said. “And that is why we see close family members creating single-candidate Super PACs like we have for Aaron Regunberg.”

“The Regunberg mailer shows how far we are in reality from the campaign finance system that the five justices of the Supreme Court imagined when they decided the Citizens United case,” Marion said. “In the justices’ mind independent spenders would be truly separate from the candidate and their campaign. It’s hard to fathom how a Super PAC created for the sole purpose of electing a close relative is truly independent. This isn’t the first example of a close relative making a Super PAC for a candidate, and unfortunately, it won’t be the last either.”

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