Before the New Mexico Republican Party had selected its candidate for the United States senatorial election for the fall's election, the Republican Party's FCC bought advertisements attacking the candidate of the Democratic Party. The Federal Election Commission charged that this spending on advertising was greater than the limits imposed by a provision of the Federal Election Campaign Act upon political party expenditures in connection with general election campaigns. That case draws attention to the constitutionality of the limits. The First Amendment prohibits the application of that provision to expenditures that the political party has made independently.
It is important to begin with an analysis of the facts under FECA as it emerged from Congress. FECA sought to remedy the appearance of a corrupt political process. It imposed limits on the amounts that individuals and political parties could donate to candidates for Congress. It imposed limits upon the amounts that candidates could spend to aid another.