Barr Campaign: Complaint Filed Against Pridemore

Friday, 5:30 p.m.: Story updated to clarify that Tricia Pridemore's office says it is not aware of a complaint being officially filed.

Bob Barr's Congressional campaign has told Patch that it has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against the Tricia Pridemore campaign, according to a press release from Barr's office. The office says the complaint alleges that Pridemore's campaign illegally solicited campaign donations amongst Barr donors by using Barr's federally required campaign finance reports.

Barr and Pridemore are vying to succeed Phil Gingrey in Georgia's 11th Congressional District. Gingrey is running for U.S. Senate.

"I don't know if this was intentional or just sloppy work, but I would hope the Pridemore campaign would clean up its act," said Barr campaign manager Derek Barr.

When contacted about the complaint Thursday afternoon, Pridemore's office told Patch that they have not been able to verify that a complaint was filed. "The campaign has not received anything from the Federal Election Commission regarding any complaint."

The complaint, which Barr's office said it filed Wednesday, said that the Pridemore campaign had mailed a solicitation to a dummy address that most campaigns sprinkle their fundraising reports with, while providing the FEC with a list of those names. 

Barr's campaign claims that "it is highly likely that the misappropriation of Barr Congress' contributor data by TPC extends far beyond this one 'salted' name."Barr and Pridemore are vying to succeed Phil Gingrey in Georgia's 11th Congressional District. Gingrey is running for U.S. Senate.

"I don't know if this was intentional or just sloppy work, but I would hope the Pridemore campaign would clean up its act," said Barr campaign manager Derek Barr.

When contacted about the complaint Thursday afternoon, Pridemore's office told Patch that they have not been able to verify a complaint. "The campaign has not received anything from the Federal Election Commission regarding any complaint."

The complaint, which Barr's office said it filed Wednesday, said that the Pridemore campaign had mailed a solicitation to a dummy address that most campaigns sprinkle their fundraising reports with, while providing the FEC with a list of those names. 

The complaint claims that "it is highly likely that the misappropriation of Barr Congress' contributor data by TPC extends far beyond this one 'salted' name."