'Ready for Warren' to change name
Under pressure from federal regulators, an upstart super PAC attempting to convince Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., to seek the presidency has agreed to change its name.
"Ready for Warren PAC" will amend its registration paperwork and officially become the "Ready for Warren Presidential Draft Campaign," super PAC treasurer Erica Sagrans today told the Center for Public Integrity.
The switch comes after the Federal Election Committee demanded the group ditch its original name because, per federal election regulations, only committees authorized by a federal political candidate may use the candidate's name.
There's an exception, however: Draft committees may refer to an active candidate in its organization's own name "provided the committee's name clearly indicates that it is a draft committee."
Sagrans noted that "we'll still call ourselves Ready for Warren in most of our communications, but we want to comply with what [the FEC] is asking, and we should be clear on what our intentions are." She also praised FEC officials for being "incredibly helpful" in helping her super PAC navigate federal election rules.
But does the Ready for Warren Presidential Draft Campaign agree with the rules in the first place?
After all, several other political committees that seemingly encorporate candidates' names have effectively told the FEC to take a hike, citing free speech considerations.
And Ready for Hillary, a hybrid PAC that's raised millions of dollars to promote a Hillary Clinton presidential bid may keep its name because Clinton isn't a declared political candidate.
Related: FEC not 'Ready for Warren'
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This story is part of Primary Source. Primary Source keeps you up-to-date on developments in the post-Citizens United world of money in politics. Click here to read more stories in this blog.
Copyright 2014 The Center for Public Integrity. This story was published by The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative news organization in Washington, D.C.
