A loophole in Mississippi law allows politicians to personally profit from their campaign funds — as long as they use money raised before 2018.

Want a new car? How about some cowboy boots? Maybe you want to cut yourself a check using your excess campaign cash?

It's all legal, as long as it's money raised before Jan. 1, 2018.

Many candidates running in upcoming statewide elections still have significant campaign cash saved up from back then, a Clarion Ledger review of secretary of state filings found. While lawmakers drew praise for campaign finance reform they passed in 2017, Mississippi's current law — including the lack of spending rules for old money — remains among the most relaxed in the country.

Under a grandfather clause lawmakers included when they passed reforms, several high-profile candidates could lose in next month's primary and walk away hundreds of thousands of dollars richer. If Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves lost his bid for governor in next month's primary, he could legally take home around $5 million in political donations. His campaign said that wouldn't happen.

State legislators passed the campaign finance reform package in 2017, following a series of Clarion Ledger stories showing how politicians spent donations on clothes, cars, groceries, apartments, children's parties, even an $800 pair of cowboy boots. Experts at the time called Mississippi's lack of regulation "a recipe for ethical disaster" and "legalized bribery."

Public office/private gain:Campaign finance then, now, future

The new law clamped down on how campaign money could be spent, and required itemizing credit card expenditures. But it exempted cash raised before 2018. And large sums of that old money still show up in campaign finance filings, where politicians usually report it separately from newer money.

Tom Hood, executive director of the Mississippi Ethics Commission, said his office sometimes receives informal questions from politicians asking what they can do with their old campaign money. The federal government and most states require candidates to donate excess funds to charity or other political candidates or causes.

"I have heard people speculate that maybe somebody is keeping their money separate because they want to stick it in their pocket when they leave office," Hood said.

Reeves, a Republican, and another leading gubernatorial candidate, Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood, both recently reported substantial pre-2018 campaign funds: Reeves about $5.3 million and Hood $630,000.

Neither candidate would directly answer when the Clarion Ledger asked if they would consider keeping unused campaign funds for personal use. Both indicated it wasn't relevant because they planned to spend all their money on campaign expenses before the November general election.

Reeves spokesman Parker Briden pointed out past Clarion Ledger reporting, which showed while Reeves hadn't itemized about $15,500 in credit card spending in his 2017 filings, he later proved it was campaign-related. Meanwhile, Hood also didn't itemize several large credit card bills, and appeared to make car payments using his campaign account.

"Tate Reeves did not use campaign funds for personal expenses — even when it was technically legal," Briden said in a statement. "He worked hard to put those new rules in place so that politicians like Jim Hood are held accountable for their abuse of the system."

A Hood campaign statement said: “General Hood is focused on earning the support of Mississippi voters to become the next governor of Mississippi. He is prepared, and fully expects, to use any and all available campaign funds to achieve that goal.”

Other candidates were more clear about their plans for unused campaign funds.

State Sen. Michael Watson is running for secretary of state, and recently reported nearly $190,000 in old money. If he loses, he pledged he "wouldn't use that for personal gain."

"If I had any money leftover, which I don't think I will, I would do contributions to charities, to try and do good for people," he said.

State Sen. Buck Clarke, running for state treasurer, struck a similar tone. He has about $125,000 in old money. Clarke said he expected all his remaining donations would be spent on the campaign. But "if I was out of politics, I'd give it to another campaign, or I'd give it to charity," he said, treating it the same as newer campaign funds with additional rules.

Mississippi politicians do often follow those protocols, even though the state law doesn't require it. Gov. Phil Bryant, for example, closed out his $1 million campaign fund at the end of 2017, giving most of the money to the Imagine Mississippi PAC and other political causes. When Sen. Tommy Gollott closed out his campaign fund in 2017, he donated his $14,000 in excess cash to the Boys & Girls Club.

Others, as the Clarion Ledger found in 2016, have taken full advantage of the loose campaign finance regulations, including when they terminate their campaigns. When former House Education Chairman John Moore closed out his campaign in early 2018, for example, he reported how he spent the final $48,000 in his account. There was $10,500 for "fuel expenses" and more than $22,000 for "car payments & payoff."

At the bottom of the filing, he listed a $12,656 expenditure with the description: "To Self."

Contact Luke Ramseth at 601-961-7050 or lramseth@gannett.com. Follow @lramseth on Twitter.

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