The North Carolina Democratic Party recently filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against Thom Tillis and the North Carolina Republican Party (NCGOP) after Tillis and the NCGOP violated federal law with a robo-call sent earlier this month. Read the full complaint online HERE and audio of the robo-call online HERE.

“Senator Tillis and the North Carolina Republican Party have violated federal law by not properly disclosing this campaign activity and by trying to skirt campaign finance laws around coordination between a party and candidate,” NCDP Chairman Wayne Goodwin said. “Once again, Senator Tillis reveals that he’s a self-serving Washington politician who will bend the rules for his own personal gain. The FEC should fully investigate this matter and sanction Senator Tillis’ campaign and the NCGOP as appropriate.”

The complaint outlines how, on August 6, the NCGOP distributed a robo-call recorded by Senator Tillis that claims that the call was “not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee” even though Senator Tillis himself recorded – and authorized – the disclaimer.

The complaint also alleges that Tillis and the NCGOP attempted to circumvent federal regulations around coordination. The expenditure came within 90 days of a federal election and identifies a federal election candidate, and therefore should be treated as a party coordinated expenditure or an in-kind contribution to Tillis, which is subject to spending limits under campaign finance law.

This is the second time this year Senator Tillis has been caught circumventing federal election rules. In February, Senator Tillis faced an ethics complaint after he was caught improperly using his official position to support his floundering re-election campaign.