Background
Gubernatorial candidate Richard Jackson challenged Georgia’s leadership committee statute, which permits incumbent Governors and Lieutenant Governors to form committees that can accept unlimited contributions and coordinate directly with their campaigns. Jackson, a private citizen and candidate, could not form such a committee and was subject to standard contribution limits. He filed suit under Section nineteen eighty-three, alleging that the statute violated his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights by granting his opponent, Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, an unfair fundraising advantage. The district court granted a preliminary injunction, which was stayed pending appeal.
The court’s reasoning
The court affirmed the preliminary injunction, finding that Jackson was likely to succeed on the merits. First, the court held that the leadership committee statute imposed discriminatory contribution limits on candidates competing for the same seat, which is antithetical to the First Amendment under Davis v. Federal Election Commission. Second, the court determined that the leadership committee’s conduct qualified as state action. Although the committee is formally private, its existence and powers are entirely dependent on the Lieutenant Governor’s official status, making it a joint participant with the State. The court concluded that the committee’s fundraising advantages were attributable to the State, satisfying the requirements for a Section nineteen eighty-three claim.
The First Amendment does not forgive such favoritism.
Opinion of the Court at 2
What it means going forward
The ruling maintains the preliminary injunction preventing the Lieutenant Governor’s leadership committee from soliciting contributions or making expenditures in support of his campaign until he becomes the nominee of the Republican Party or further order of the court.