NH GOP Files Complaint With NH AG Over Warmington Attack Ad

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

Cinde Warmington’s embattled campaign for governor suffered another self-inflicted wound Monday after it was caught distributing an attack ad without the disclosures required under state law.

And it’s not the first time.

New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman Scott Maltzie filed an election-law complaint Monday alerting the state to the 30-second internet video, titled “Cost of Kelly”, targeting Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte. It was posted by the “Cinde Warmington for Governor” YouTube account.

“The advertisement contains none of the required disclosures,” Maltzie wrote. “It has no paid-for statement; no identification or address of the paying candidate or political committee; no name and position of a treasurer or chairman; no clear identification of the signer’s name and address; and no aural or visual identification of the candidate who paid for the advertisement or whose advertisement was paid for by a political committee.”

NHJournal reviewed the video and there were no disclaimers to be found.

Maltzie, who filed the complaint both as a New Hampshire voter and as NHGOP chairman, asked Attorney General John Formella’s office to investigate and, if it finds a violation, order the campaign to stop distributing the video until it complies with the law. The complaint also asks the state to seek a civil penalty.

A violation of RSA 664:14 can carry a civil penalty of up to $1,000. Under RSA 664:18, the attorney general must review a written complaint and investigate when it presents sufficient evidence of a violation.

The filing is a complaint, not a finding that Warmington or her campaign violated the law.

This isn’t the first time the Warmington campaign has tripped up on the disclaimer issue.

In May, Warmington posted a billboard in Manchester attacking Ayotte that also failed to included the required language. Warmington’s campaign acknowledged the omission and said it would be corrected, according to a New Hampshire Union Leader report.

In Monday’s complaint, Maltzie argued that the calendar mandates quick action.

“Since the election is fast approaching, prompt review and remedial action are important,” he wrote.

NHJournal has reached out to the Warmington campaign with a request for comment.

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.