Arizona Governor Brewer Has $300K In Her (Federal) SuperPAC; Uses Some For Travel, Lodging (FOLLOWING MONEY IN ARIZONA'S POLITICS)

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has $300,000 left in her eponymously-named SuperPAC, after it brought in only $2,670 in small contributions and disbursed nearly $50,000.  This is the first quarter that the Governor has not actively collected monies for JanPAC.

That remaining $300,000 is only limited in how she can spend it by the restriction that it cannot be donated directly to candidate's campaigns.  For the past three months, she spent approximately $40,000 on "fundraising fees" - which could be from services provided in 2013 - advertising on Facebook, and a couple of thousand dollars on a computer, airline tickets and one night's lodging at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, DC.

Jan PAC received some unwelcomed - and, misleading - attention yesterday.  In a national report, the Center for Public Integrity used it as an example in its report about SuperPAC leaders using (abusing?) the funds for personal perks.  It notes that she spent nearly $21,000 on travel expenses in 2013; however - as documented in previous articles - Brewer's JanPAC travel appeared to be almost exclusively used to attend fundraisers.  In that respect, it would be just another cost of fundraising.

Arizona's Politics has reported previously on the supporters of the Governor's federal PAC - including $250,000 donated by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, the company that received a potentially-lucrative contract to manage and advertise at Arizona's highway rest areas, and the health-related contributors who supported Arizona's acceptance of Obamacare monies to expand AHCCCS.

Brewer also controls a similar kitty at the state level.  Arizona's Legacy reported having $570,000 cash on hand at the beginning of the year.  The Governor is poised to either be a major player in this year's Arizona elections, or it could conceivably be used to promote her personal political future - it was only yesterday that the conservative Citizens United released a poll showing her as the best-positioned candidate to defeat Sen. John McCain in a 2016 GOP primary.



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