MADISON — The Wisconsin Republican Party announced Friday that it filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission after Wisconsin Democratic Congressional candidate Mitchell Berman of Franklin filed campaign finance paperwork late.
Berman is a candidate in Tuesday’s primary in Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District along with Miguel Aranda of Whitewater, Peter Burgelis of Milwaukee and Lorenzo Santos of Racine. Burgelis has since dropped out of the race.
The GOP’s complaint states that Berman failed to file a pre-primary report of finances by the July 30 deadline. According to FEC records, the report was filed July 31.
“Filing campaign finance reports on time isn’t optional. It’s the law. When a candidate fails to meet that standard, Wisconsin have every right to question whether he is ready for the responsibility of representing them in Congress,” Wisconsin GOP spokesperson Anika Rickard said in a statement.
The Berman campaign submitted a statement to The 69 Friday, indicating it is proud to be running a transparent campaign.
“Our pre-primary campaign finance report was filed two hours late due to a bookkeeping issue,” the statement read.
In the complaint, the GOP calls for the FEC to investigate. Berman could be subject to fines.
The winner of Tuesday’s primary will try to unseat incumbent Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Janesville) in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Rock County Democrats did not comment. The county-level party does not make endorsements in primaries.