WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – A U.S. Senate candidate who doesn’t want anyone to vote for him never filled out the proper paperwork and is clearly attempting to distort the election, a Montana citizen says in a recent complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission.
It’s the latest turn in the saga of the Green Party, which could play a pivotal role in this year’s Senate election that features Republican incumbent Steve Daines and Democrat Gov. Steve Bullock.
After Republicans funded a signature drive to get the Green Party on the ballot, which could pull the most eco-friendly Democrat votes away from Bullock, Dennis Daneke said he went online to register for the Green primary following a discussion with a Democrat friend.
If he wins Tuesday’s primary, he says he’ll possibly pull out of the general election to leave voters with only a Republican or Democrat to choose from, according to a KTVH report.
The complaint filed by James Gustafson with the FEC on June 1 says Daneke has not registered with the FEC as a federal candidate, has not designated a principal campaign committee and has not file campaign expense and contribution reports since he filed on March 9.
“Twelve other people, including another Green Party candidate, have filed the appropriate paperwork with the FEC,” the complaint says.
“This leads one to question whether Mr. Daneke is truly a candidate for the U.S. Senate or if he is attempting to scam the Green Party voters in the June 2 primary.
Daneke is a retired professor. He filed in response to Wendie Frederickson entering the Green Party field.
National Democratic groups are spending their funds in Montana with the hope of taking the Republican’s majority in the Senate, with one report finding a super PAC spent nearly $700,000 on attack ads.
KTVH has also reported that the Montana Republican Party paid six figures for signature-gathering to help the Green Party get on the ballot. The Montana Democratic Party accused it of election fraud, while the Republicans accused the Democrats of pushing third parties out of elections.
“I confess that the only reason my name is on the ballot is because I was asked to run 20 minutes before the registration deadline,” Daneke has said.
“My opponent was recruited to siphon votes from Democrats and I was recruited to siphon votes from her.”
Daneke has issued this directive: “To all Montana voters: Please don’t vote for me... Don’t vote for my Green Party opponent either.”
The FEC complaint says Daneke’s campaign lacks public disclosure and commitment to transparency, “and because of his emphatic public statements that indicate his apparently unlawful candidacy is intended to distort a federal election, I ask that the FEC find reason to believe and investigate the facts and circumstances supporting these allegations.”