Citizens for Clean Water and Land, a political action committee founded last summer by a group of attorneys involved in legacy lawsuits, raised nearly $700,000 for the fall election and spent more than one-third of that on Louisiana Supreme Court 5th District candidate Jeff Hughes, who led the field of eight candidates in the Nov. 6 primary.
According to campaign finance reports filed this week, the PAC raised $695,595 and spent $693,882 between June 15 and Nov. 8. More than $300,000 of the funds raised went directly to pay for TV and radio ads, fliers, polls, and political consulting fees for the Hughes campaign.
Another $200,000 or so was spent on an issue ad that aired in late September and appeared designed to establish the PAC’s legitimacy as an environmental organization. The ad featured well-known engineers Jimmy Jenkins and A. Hays Town II, and promoted the mission of their group, Save BR Water. The group and the PAC are no longer affiliated. It is unclear on which campaign the remaining funds were spent.
When Citizens for Clean Water and Land was formed last summer, legacy lawyer John Carmouche made no secret of the PAC’s intention of getting involved in the hotly contested 5th District Louisiana Supreme Court race.
“We’ll get involved in any race … from legislators to attorney generals to anyone involved in protecting the land,” Carmouche told Daily Report at the time. “We are not tree huggers. We are business people. But we want to make sure that polluters are held responsible for their actions.”
Carmouche, his firm and fewer than 20 other contributors raised all $695,000 during the five-month period, campaign finance reports show. You can access complete campaign finance reports here.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated since its original publication.
