FEC Fines Rodney Davis’ Campaign: $43,475 Penalty for Excess Contributions

Springfield, Illinois (AP) – The Federal Election Commission fined the campaign fund of a former Illinois congressman $43,475 for failing to repay excess contributions on time.

The Federal Election Commission fined Republican Rodney Davis’ campaign committee, Rodney for Congress, and its treasurer, Thomas Charles Datwyler, according to a letter sent last month.

The infractions happened during the 2021-2022 election cycle. Contributions of more than $2,900 per cycle from an individual or single-candidate political committee, or $5,000 per election from a multicandidate group, are prohibited under federal campaign finance law. Excess contributions must be returned or renamed within 60 days.

In a negotiated settlement with Davis’ committee and Datwyler, the FEC determined that one donation of $3,625 and general election contributions of $479,784 were improperly reallocated within 60 days, resulting in penalties. Davis was ineligible for the bigger sum because he did not appear on the 2022 general election ballot.

A call to a number associated with Davis remained unanswered. A phone message was left for Datwyler.

The FEC noted that the committee revealed refunds of excessive contributions on quarterly and year-end reports for 2022, and in January 2024 filed documentation disclosing the refunds as part of the negotiated settlement.

Davis, a 54-year-old Taylorville native, had five terms in Congress. Following the 2020 congressional redistricting controlled by Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly, Davis was assigned to a district with conservative Republican Mary Miller, who defeated Davis in the 2022 GOP primary with more than 57% of the vote.

Davis’ committee informed the FEC that it would dissolve once the situation was resolved. The fine is due by July 18.