By Staff Reporter |

Gov. Katie Hobbs stands accused of illegally commingling millions in funds to subsidize her campaign.

A letter sent by attorney Tim La Sota to Secretary of State Adrian Fontes earlier this month accuses the governor of commingling funds between her reelection campaign committee, Elect Katie Hobbs, and two other entities which submit funds to her campaign committee. 

Elect Katie Hobbs and all other candidate campaign committees are restricted in the types of funds they may accept. Campaign committees must rely on what’s known in campaign finance parlance as “hard money,” or donations given by individuals directly to a political candidate, and cannot accept “soft money,” or donations or contributions collected into political action committees (PACs) from corporations or unions. Individual donations are limited to $5,500 per person. 

The letter claims that Hobbs has used a PAC, which it claims to be hers, Copper State Values, as an unlawful repository for soft money to be used for Elect Katie Hobbs expenses. Allegedly, Copper State Values receives soft money funds from Hobbs’ joint fundraising committee PAC, the Katie Hobbs Victory Fund, and then sends the funds on to Elect Katie Hobbs and other political entities working to reelect Hobbs such as the Navajo County Democrat Party and the Arizona Democratic Party. 

“Candidate contribution limits mean little if candidates can simply funnel money that the candidate herself cannot legally receive to a political action committee and turn around and have that political action committee pay for that candidate’s campaign expenses,” said the letter. 

Since 2023, Elect Katie Hobbs has accrued more than $7.8 million and spent more than $4 million, Copper State Values has accrued more than $3.8 million and spent more than $2 million, and Katie Hobbs Victory Fund has respectively accrued and spent more than $1.8 million.

The letter further described Copper State Values as unusual since it lacked the typical hallmarks of a PAC, such as a political activity or a website. The PAC’s main activity appears to be the alleged shared expenses with Elect Katie Hobbs for which it pays, such as payroll, rent, and travel.

“The PAC seems to only function as a repository of monies that are then distributed to various left-wing entities, who will presumably help the Governor get elected — that and paying for expenses that legally must be paid by [Elect Katie Hobbs],” stated the letter. “[I]n terms of the PAC, it seems to do nothing but receive money and distribute money. It does not have any discernible political activity in terms of expenditures for express advocacy. It does not even have a website. And yet, it racks up hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses, money that it reimburses to Elect Katie Hobbs.”

Hobbs’ reelection campaign manager, Nicole DeMont, serves as the chair of Copper State Values, and both Copper State Values and Elect Katie Hobbs share the same address, email address, and treasurer, Dacey Montoya.

The letter noted that Demont’s consulting firm, Monteverde Strategies, has received about $55,000 from Copper State Values. It also noted that Capital Strategies, a consultant for Hobbs, has received more than $198,000 from Copper State Values, though the consultant doesn’t disclose its relationship to the PAC on its website page for current and former clients. 

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