Campaign Committees

(A) A judicial candidate subject to public election may establish a campaign committee to manage and conduct a campaign for the candidate, subject to the provisions of this Code. The candidate is responsible for ensuring that his or her campaign committee complies with applicable provisions of this Code and other applicable law. (B) A judicial candidate subject to public election shall direct his or her campaign committee: (1) to solicit and accept only such campaign contributions as are reasonable under the circumstances and in an amount permitted by law; and (2) not to solicit or accept contributions for a candidate’s current campaign except in accordance with Rules 4.2(C) and 4.2(D). [1] A candidate may personally solicit or accept campaign contributions in accordance with the law or personally solicit publicly stated support. A candidate may use committees to solicit and accept such lawful contributions and conduct campaigns for the candidate through media advertisements, brochures, mailings, candidate forums, and other means not prohibited by law. This Rule recognizes that judicial candidates must raise campaign funds to support their candidacies and permits candidates, other than applicants for appointive judicial office, to establish campaign committees to solicit and accept reasonable financial contributions or in-kind contributions. [2] Campaign committees may solicit and accept campaign contributions, manage the expenditure of campaign funds, and generally conduct campaigns. Candidates are responsible for compliance with the requirements of election law and other applicable law, and for the activities of their campaign committees. [3] A candidate must instruct the campaign committee to solicit or accept only such contributions as are reasonable in amount, appropriate under the circumstances, and in conformity with applicable law. A candidate and members of the candidate’s campaign committees must exercise a high degree of ethical behavior in the solicitation and acceptance of campaign contributions, and must especially take great care in avoiding coercion or the appearance of coercion in the solicitation and acceptance of such contributions. Although lawyers and others who might appear before a successful candidate for judicial office are permitted to make campaign contributions, the candidate should instruct his or her campaign committee to be especially cautious in connection with such contributions, so they do not create grounds for disqualification if the candidate is elected to judicial office. See Rule 2.11.