Republican gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson, right, speaks at a campaign appearance at the Ulmer Cafe in New Ulm, Minn., on Wednesday, while, below, Democratic-Farm-Labor candidates Gov. Mark Dayton and U.S. Sen. Al Franken attend a rally at the state Capitol before leaving with other DFL leaders on a bus tour around Minnesota.

Minnesota Democratic Congressman Collin Peterson has paid more than $259,000 to his son from campaign funds since 2007. On the other side of the aisle, 8th District Republican candidate Stewart Mills has paid his family’s company more than $6,800 for office space.

Overall, Minnesota’s congressional delegation and their opponents in the November election have paid more than $373,000 in campaign money to family members since 2007.

The practice is legal. Some question whether it’s proper to mix personal and campaign finances.

“Elected officials and candidates shouldn’t use their positions to enrich themselves and their families,” Adam Rappaport, senior legal counsel for the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said in an email. His group is a nonprofit, nonpartisan government-watchdog organization in Washington, D.C.

Viewing the rules that allow such payments as a “loophole,” the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington supports legislation to end the practice of using campaign money to pay candidates’ family members.

Candidates and members of Congress can use campaign money to pay themselves, their family, their family’s companies and even their own companies, provided actual work is being performed and at a fair market rate, according to the Federal Election Commission.

What members of Congress are barred from doing is paying their family members with congressional office dollars — or, in other words, taxpayer money. A few limited exceptions apply.

Family members, though, often work long hours in support of a candidate, said Larry Jacobs, professor at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs.

Money going to some of them “happens all the time. … It’s not illegal and, frankly, you might have pity on the candidates,” he said.

And of all the issues around campaign finance, money going to family members is “not at the top of the list,” Jacobs said. “It’s not even close.”

PETERSON, MILLS CASES

A review of campaign records for Minnesota’s congressional delegation seeking re-election and their challengers found candidates from both sides of the aisle have made such payments.

Peterson, who is seeking his 13th term as the Democratic-Farmer-Labor congressman in Minnesota’s 7th District, pays his son with campaign funds. Since January 2007, Peterson’s campaign has paid Elliott Peterson more than $259,000 in salary and other expenses. Elliott Peterson’s wife also received $6,390 from the campaign over a two-month span last winter.

Collin Peterson said it’s cheaper to hire his son, who is a music director for a church in Tennessee, than somebody from Washington to do the campaign work.

“Well, he’s actually saving the campaign money,” Peterson said. He went on to say, “If I didn’t have him doing this, I’d have one of these Washington compliance firms doing it.”

Since October 2013, Mills’ campaign has paid $6,830 for rent and related expenses to his family’s business, Mills Fleet Farm, according to expenditure statements from the FEC.

No preferential treatment or breaks were given and the expenditures are fully compliant with the law, the Mills camp said. Mills is on a leave of absence from the company while campaigning.

“Because Fleet Farm is a family business owned by several members of the Mills family, the campaign and business operations have been separate,” Mills’ campaign communications director, Chloe Rockow, said in an email. “When they do intersect, the campaign fully pays the business at market rates for rent or services used. Ultimately, all matters pertaining to campaign finance have been conducted with the advice and guidance of the FEC and campaign lawyers.”

WIVES PAID, TOO

Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Walz’s wife, Gwen, has been reimbursed mileage and travel costs by his campaign fund. While it’s unclear how much she’s actually received because she’s listed jointly on reimbursements with her husband, those payments have totaled more than $51,000 since 2007.

Walz is running for a fifth term in the state’s 1st Congressional District.

“Like many spouses of candidates, Gwen is very actively involved in campaign activities with Tim and on Tim’s behalf,” Walz campaign spokesman Evan Peterson wrote in an email. “Her expenses for these activities are reimbursed, but she is not compensated for her time.”

Republican U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen, who’s running for a fourth term in Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District, paid his wife more than $9,000 in salary in 2008. It appears she no longer works for the campaign because disbursement statements filed with the FEC don’t show recent payments.

The only response received from Paulsen’s camp was an email with links to other stories highlighting the issue.

U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, a Democrat running for re-election in Minnesota’s 5th District, also paid family members with campaign money. Two of his sons were paid $11,332 and $25,948 in salary in previous election cycles. Ellison’s now-ex-wife received almost $4,000 for travel and other expenses several years ago.

Ellison said in a statement: “If a family member is doing legitimate campaign work and is fairly compensated compared to others in a similar position, I don’t have a problem with family members being hired on a campaign.”

No Ellison family members appear on recent campaign-spending statements. When asked why, the campaign said in an email, “They did not apply to work for his campaign this cycle.”

Ellison, Paulsen, Peterson and Walz were all mentioned in a 2012 report by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington that highlighted campaign spending on family members for the House of Representatives.

Members of Congress are paid $174,000 annually.

Patrick Rehkamp is a freelance reporter. He can be reached at pat.rehkamp@gmail.com.

CAMPAIGN FUND CONNECTIONS

— Collin Peterson has paid his son more than $259,000 since 2007 and his daughter-in-law $6,390 last winter with campaign funds.

— Stewart Mills has paid his family’s company $6,830 with campaign funds since October 2013.

— Erik Paulsen paid his wife more than $9,000 with campaign funds in 2008.

— Tim Walz has paid himself and his wife more than $51,000 with campaign funds for mileage and travel costs since 2007.

— Keith Ellison’s sons were paid $11,332 (2009 to 2011) and $25,948 (2011 and 2012) in salary with campaign funds. Ellison’s now-ex-wife received almost $4,000 for travel expenses from 2007 to 2010.

— Sharon Sund, the Democratic candidate in the state’s 3rd District, paid her husband $1,500 in June 2014, according to campaign records. Sund said it was a paperwork error and actually a donation from her husband, not a campaign expenditure.