Rep. Mia Love said accusations that she collected campaign funds illegally are "baloney" and a "coordinated effort" to attack her campaign ahead of November's midterm elections.
Love (R-Utah) has been accused by progressive watchdog group Alliance for a Better Utah of collecting more than $1 million in campaign contributions for a “2018 Republican primary election that never happened.”
The group submitted a formal complaint to the Federal Election Commission last week, arguing that Love did not have a primary challenger, yet she raised money during the primary challenge period, and even an additional $372,000 after she secured the nomination.
Love's campaign has denied any claims of illegal action and said she would redesignate the $372,000 raised after the state convention and pay back about $10,000, but Alliance for a Better Utah says that is “completely inadequate under the requirements of the law.”
On "Fox & Friends" Tuesday, Love said this is a political move by a leftist group that is essentially working on behalf of her Democratic opponent.
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"There is a coordinated effort out there around campaign time to smear, to do whatever they can to hurt reputations, to do whatever they can to 'assassinate' these people that are out there that are doing good things for their constituents," Love said.
"Nothing that we did was wrong," she stated, calling the complaint from Alliance for a Better Utah "baloney."
She noted that other lawmakers have been involved in similar cases, including Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) in 2016, which resulted in the FEC ruling that Lee could retain campaign contributions raised in preparation for a primary election that ended up not happening.
Love said she believes Democrats are targeting her in particular because, as the first black Republican woman elected to Congress, she destroys their narrative.
"Nancy Pelosi and the DCCC claim that they like diversity, but if you think on your own, if you are an independent thinker, that's not the diversity, they like. If you're a Republican, that's certainly not the diversity that they like," Love said. "And they're frankly afraid that we're going to bring more people to come along with us."
Watch more above.
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