Larry Elder fined for failing to disclose income during 2021 gubernatorial recall campaign

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Staff Writer

May 17, 2023 5 AM PT

GOP presidential candidate Larry Elder has agreed to pay a $2,000 fine for violating the state Political Reform Act while running for governor during the 2021 recall election, according to the Fair Political Practices Commission.

Elder, who was a Los Angeles-based conservative talk-radio host before entering politics, failed to disclose earnings from 10 entities on his statement of economic interest, including Salem Media, Epoch Times and Turning Point USA, according to the state commission.

The Times reported about one of the omissions in August 2021. A campaign spokeswoman said at the time that there may have been an oversight and that, if there was, the filing would be amended.

The financial disclosure documents have been corrected, according to the commission, which found that there was “no evidence of intent to conceal” and that harm to the public was minimal.

The agreement, which doesn’t require commission approval, was scheduled to be presented at the panel’s Thursday meeting until it was canceled.

Elder’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment.

The attempted recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom overwhelmingly failed, but Elder did come in first among the replacement candidates, winning 48.4% of the vote, according to the secretary of state’s office.

In April, Elder announced that he was running for president. He has the support of 1.3% for the GOP nomination, according to a Real Clear Politics aggregation of public polls.

Elder is scheduled to hold a fundraiser on May 25 in Newport Beach, with tickets costing up to $6,600.