The pro-Fiorina super PAC 'CARLY' is all but indistinguishable from Fiorina's actual campaign

(Image credit: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

published 10 September 2015

When is a super PAC no longer a super PAC but a campaign? Well, that's the multi-million dollar question. This election season in particular has seen a blurring of the boundaries between these nominally independent groups and the campaigns themselves, and no super PAC has been quite so obvious about it as Conservative, Authentic, Responsive Leadership For You and For America — also known by its acronym, CARLY For America. You'll never guess which candidate it supports.

National Journal notes that Carly Fiorina's campaign has a small-to-nonexistent presence in early primary states. However, in lieu of her own campaign staffers or swag, Fiorina is benefiting greatly from CARLY stepping forward.

This differentiation between in-kind and independent expenditures can lead to some confusing optics. It was Fiorina's birthday on Sunday, and at a campaign stop in New Hampshire she was presented with a birthday cake. The cake was decorated not with her campaign's logo, but the super PAC's logo. At a Labor Day parade the next day, a video sent out by Fiorina's official Twitter account shows the candidate walking down the street, surrounded by supporters in CARLY T-shirts, waving CARLY signs. There was no visible campaign swag from Fiorina's presidential campaign, so a casual observer could reasonably assume that the paraphernalia was coming from the campaign itself. [National Journal]

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.