Minnesota Republican PAC violated campaign finance laws, investigation finds

A conservative political action committee that reported spending no money on behalf of candidates and hundreds of thousands of dollars on “internet access and web hosting” services has been fined for violating Minnesota’s campaign finance laws.

In a wide-ranging investigation that concluded this summer, the state’s Campaign Finance Board found that a key figure behind the PAC called Right Now Minnesota misclassified more than $240,000 in expenditures during the 2022 midterm elections. The board also found that the PAC ran political ads without proper disclaimers.

As a result of the investigation, which was prompted by a 2023 Minnesota Star Tribune article about the PAC’s spending, Right Now Minnesota and its chairman, Elliott Olson, were each fined $10,000.

“Mr. Olson knew that the original report contained false information or omitted required information when it was filed,” the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board found.

Right Now Minnesota alarmed conservatives and even some of its own donors when it reported spending zero dollars on behalf of candidates during the 2022 midterm elections. Almost all political action committees in Minnesota report spending most of their money on independent expenditures, which go directly toward supporting or defeating a candidate.

Instead of candidate-related spending, Right Now Minnesota reported spending almost all the money it took in from donors at the time on internet and web services, which typically cost only a few hundred dollars. The PAC paid an unknown company called 1854, Inc., which had no website or online presence, for the services.

The Campaign Finance Board’s investigation found that Right Now Minnesota spent more than $240,000 on independent expenditures in 2022, but Olson misclassified the expenses as internet and web services.

Richard Andolshek, chairman and CEO of Brick, was deposed as part of the board’s investigation into Right Now Minnesota. Andolshek told the board that “1854 was formed as a buffer between Brick and its political clients because Brick lost clients in the past due to political advertising,” the investigation states.

Before his company served as a vendor to the PAC, Andolshek was involved in conversations with Olson that led to the formation of Right Now Minnesota, the investigation found. Andolshek also solicited and received donations for the PAC in his personal capacity. The Campaign Finance Board noted the close relationship between Right Now Minnesota and its vendors was unusual.

“Given those relationships, the Board was concerned about whether transactions between Right Now MN and its vendors were negotiated at arm’s length,” the transaction states. “… However, the investigation did not reveal evidence that Right Now MN paid more than the fair market value of the services that Brick provided.”

Right Now Minnesota was dinged by the Campaign Finance Board for not including proper disclaimers on a couple of political ads.

It ran radio ads for Scott Jensen’s governor campaign without stating they were independent expenditures and that no candidate was responsible for them. It also advertised former Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek’s short-lived governor campaign on billboards without similarly required disclaimers.

“Mr. Olson did not maintain records that detailed the purpose of each expenditure and how the expenditure was used, and did not maintain records that detailed how much was spent with respect to each candidate for independent expenditures,” the board found.

Olson and Right Now Minnesota had not paid their fines as of Friday, according to the Campaign Finance Board. They must pay the civil penalties within 60 days of when the board’s investigation concluded, which was on June 17.