Raph Graybill Admits To Breaking Campaign Finance Laws

Graybill touts poll he “wasn’t supposed to know about.”

HELENA, MT - Last week, the Montana GOP filed a complaint with the Commissioner of Political Practices after the party obtained an audio recording of Ryan Busse’s running mate Raph Graybill admitting he received polling data “he wasn’t supposed to know about.”

Listen to the audio here.

Per campaign finance rules, sharing a private poll with a candidate counts as an in-kind contribution to their campaign. Since polls are expensive and usually exceed contribution limits, a candidate or campaign can’t discuss the poll unless it has been made public.

In the recording, Graybill, an attorney who should be familiar with campaign finance rules, is heard saying: “We have a poll, and I wasn’t supposed to know about it. But we are within the margin of error of this guy. Okay. We are right on his heels. This is the key moment, but we need your help right now to close that gap.”

“Ryan Busse and Raph Graybill are so desperate to impose their radical, far-left agenda on Montana that they are even willing to break the law.” Montana Republican Party Chairman Don “K” Kaltschmidt said. “If they can’t follow the rules to run for office, how can we trust them to run state government if elected?”

The last three public polls released consistently show Governor Gianforte with a significant lead over Ryan Busse.

AARP
Public Opinion Strategies (June)
Public Opinion Strategies (August)