By Jakob Thorington | Arizona Capitol Times
Just like candidates running for federal office, Arizona’s attorney general says political candidates running for office in the state can use private campaign funds for child care costs.
Attorney General Kris Mayes issued an opinion Monday establishing child care as a permissible campaign expense. Four Democratic legislators raised the question with Mayes, who said candidates may use campaign funds for child care only if it enables a candidate to perform campaign activities.
“If the purpose of paying for dependent care is to enable the candidate to spend time on the campaign, instead of performing a task they otherwise must perform personally, then it is ‘for the purpose of influencing an election’ and is a permissible campaign expenditure,” Mayes wrote in her opinion.