Nat Herz, Alaska Public Media

As Alaska’s elections come down to wire, ads test limits of campaign finance laws

In the last few days before an election, it’s pretty common for political groups to start playing fast and loose with Alaska’s campaign finance laws — and the state’s cash-strapped campaign finance regulators say they’d need a larger staff to monitor all the ads in the last-minute barrage.

Meet the two men who have spent $700,000 trying to make Mike Dunleavy Alaska’s governor

Until a late influx of money in the final weeks of the campaign, most of the cash for the pro-Dunleavy independent expenditure group came from two people: Dunleavy’s brother Francis, and Bob Penney, the developer and recreational fishing advocate who’s long donated to Republican candidates and causes.

Begich spent four years as a consultant. As governor, he could sign bills affecting former clients.

For the past four years, Begich has owned a public affairs and consulting firm, working with clients that intersect with state government. If elected, he’ll likely be faced with decisions that will directly affect the businesses, unions and Native organizations that have been paying his business for advice.

Alaska law says lobbyists can’t raise cash for candidates. But lobbyists are still sending invites to fundraisers.

Some of Alaska’s most prominent lobbyists are boosting the fundraising efforts of political candidates, prompting questions about whether they’re breaking a state law that’s designed to limit lobbyists’ influence over the legislative process.

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