According to the Institute on Money In State Politics (www.followthemoney.org) , New Mexico ranked fourth in the nation for candidate self-financing in 2004. Little ol' New Mexico, Fourth !  But hold on, it gets better. In 2002, the state was ranked 3 ! So how did we achieve such a high ranking ?
In 2002,  Mr. Vigil raised over $114,752 in his run for State Treasurer. Of that, approximately $24,900 was from Mr. Vigil's own pocket, according to followthemoney.org. Mr. Vigil contributed the money to his campaign over a 22 month period, beginning May 5th 2001, with a contribution of 1,200 and ending October 25th, 2002 with a repayment to himself of $1,800.
In 2004, despite not having an opponent or an election, Vigil raised over $120,000, this time without making any personal contributions to the campaign.
But what will happen to all the money Vigil raised? Can he use it for personal expense if he were to argue that they were part of his campaign to win re-election in 2006 ?
What do candidates do with the cash left in their campaign accounts after election day and once all the campaign expenditures are taken care of?
Do candidates ever repay themselves?
What if a candidate is loaned the money they use to self-finance? How is that reported?
In giving New Mexico an F grade for campaign disclosure, the Campaign Disclosure Project had this to say:
New Mexico’s big improvement in the Electronic Filing Program category was still not enough to raise the state’s overall grade above an F, due to continuing poor performance in the remaining three categories of the study.
Candidates in New Mexico must report detailed information about contributors giving $250 or more, including occupation but not employer or cumulative amount donated. Loan disclosure is a weak point, and there is no independent expenditure reporting. Candidates are required to disclose details about expenditures, but reports do not include subvendor details or accrued expenses. Large, last-minute contributions are reported before Election Day. Starting in January of 2006, all statewide and legislative candidates who are required to file reports with the Secretary of State must file them electronically, unless they apply for and are granted a hardship exemption from that agency. Continue reading New Mexico's report card here:  NM Grading State Disclosure 2005
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