Moxie Media scandal
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The Moxie Media scandal was a 2010 political scandal in Washington state. In that year's state senate primary elections, small political consulting firm Moxie Media engaged in astroturfing that resulted in a surprise loss for incumbent Jean Berkey. In an out-of-court settlement, the state fined Moxie $290,000, but the scandal had no negative long-term consequences for them. Winner Nick Harper stated he knew nothing about the scheme and became state senator despite efforts to delay his swearing in. Though the state's Democratic Party recognized Harper's achievements, rumors of an extramarital affair dogged him, and he resigned in late 2013.
In 2010, the race for state senator for Washington's 38th legislative district was a three-way contest between two candidates of the Democratic Party: Everett, Washington attorney Nick Harper and incumbent legislator Jean Berkey; and third-party challenger Rod Rieger, a relatively unknown contender who ran as the candidate of the nonexistent "Conservative Party" (under Washington elections law, candidates can list themselves as a member of any party, whether it exists or not). Under Washington's nonpartisan blanket primary system, the two candidates with the highest number of total votes advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. This made it likely that the two Democrats, Harper and Berkey, would face each other in the general election, which it was believed Berkey would likely win.
In the run-up to the primary election, a small political consulting firm, Moxie Media, covertly directed more than $300,000 in undeclared spending from Harper's supporters to a variety of shell PACs.[1] These committees, in turn, launched a series of direct mail attacks against Berkey, who had been known as a moderate Democrat likely to be supported by the district's conservative voters, purporting to be from a variety of groups with names like "Cut Taxes PAC" and "Conservative PAC." The mailings portrayed Berkey as a left-wing legislator and encouraged conservatives to vote for the third-party candidate, Rod Rieger.[2] The campaign helped propel Rieger to a surprising second-place finish in the primary election, eliminating Berkey and setting up a general election contest between Harper and Rieger. In the general election Harper easily defeated Rieger, who had only raised and spent $800, relative to Harper's $55,000 in campaign funds.[3]