It’s still not known who is funding the campaign for a Green Party U.S. Senate candidate from Arizona accused of being a Republican plant.
Arturo Hernandez is one of three candidates seeking the Green Party nomination in Arizona’s U.S. Senate race. Hernandez filed one campaign finance report earlier this year showing no income and no expenses.
But Hernandez missed a July 15 deadline to file a new report covering transactions between April 1 and June 30. The campaign likely accrued expenses during that time to hire high-profile Republican attorney Kory Langhofer, who defended Hernandez in a lawsuit filed in April challenging his candidacy.
Langhofer did not respond to a request for comment.
According to the Federal Elections Commission, candidates who fail to file campaign finance reports on time face fines, which can be referred to the Department of the Treasury for collection.
The Arizona Green Party, which is running Eduardo Quintana as a write-in candidate, accused both Hernandez and fellow candidate Mike Norton of being straw candidates backed by the two major parties.
“Most of us who are engaged enough to run for office have at least at some point volunteered and done some of the lower-tier things that a lot of people do when they get into a political party,” said Cody Hannah, co-chair of the Arizona Green Party. “So the first big red flag is that we didn't know either of these people.”
Norton, who has alleged Quintana is backed by Republicans backing U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake, admitted he is backed by some Democrats and Republicans.
Hernandez’s initial campaign finance filings listed Chrissie Hastie, a Nevada consultant who has worked exclusively for Republican candidates in the past, as the campaign treasurer. Hastie was removed as treasurer on those official forms after media outlets sent questions to the campaign about Hernandez’s political affiliation.
Hernandez did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
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