Brunner seeks federal OK of equipment dealSFlb

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio’s top elections official wants the federal government to review the legality of office equipment used in her U.S. Senate campaign.

Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner asked the Federal Election Commission in a letter Thursday for a legal opinion on an agreement her husband’s law firm and her Senate campaign are said to have signed four months ago.

The Columbus Dispatch reported that records show Brunner emptied her state campaign fund and spent about $15,000 on office equipment, supplies and cell phones before announcing her Senate candidacy.

Brunner said in a statement Thursday that her current campaign committee put $15,000 in an escrow account. The letter also asked the Federal Election Commission to determine whether the agreement, in which her federal campaign committee is to pay for the equipment by donating $15,000 to charity, satisfies federal law.

Brunner’s statement says that an Ohio law prohibits a candidate for elected office from having two campaign committees at the same time and requires a zero balance for a state committee to close its books. Normally state candidates deciding to run for federal office would close their state committees by donating unspent balances to their political party, the statement said.