Bill Britt of Alabama Political Reporter reports that Mike Hubbard, former chairman of the Alabama Republican Party and “architect” of its takeover of the statehouse in 2010, has profited nearly two million dollars from cash spent on his business interests by 2010 GOP candidates and PACs.
Britt’s report shows that of “$2,156,107.18 donations made to these particular campaigns and PACs, $916,855.98 (38.57%) was spent with Hubbard-owned companies.” Luther Strange, Mike Rogers, Bradley Byrne, and current Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard himself were among the 16 GOP candidates whose campaigns spent money on Hubbard’s businesses. Britt argues that while there were cheaper consultancy, printing, and media sources available for use, many GOP candidates were intimidated into spending more on Hubbard’s Craftmaster Printing and Network Creative Media businesses.
The result, in Britt’s eyes? Evidence of a quid-pro-quo arrangement by which Hubbard lined his pockets–in much the same fashion, ironically, as the Democrats he pilloried to help engineer the 2010 takeover in the first place.
Hubbard, for his part, has repeatedly denied profiting from the 2010 campaign cycle.
For a complete breakdown of Britt’s findings, click here.