Republican attorney general candidate Jim Schultz greets delegates at the Minnesota Republican State Convention in Rochester, Minn., on Friday, May 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)

Jim Schultz, the Republican nominee for attorney general in Minnesota, could face up to a record $3.3 million in fines for allegedly violating campaign finance laws.

The State of Minnesota Campaign Finance Board declared Wednesday that they found prima facie (first impression) evidence against Schultz. This comes after the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party filed a complaint against Schultz’s campaign on Oct. 18 for allegedly illegally coordinating with an independent expenditure group called Minnesota for Freedom.

The law in question states that independent expenditure groups can advocate for or against candidates, as long as they do not coordinate with a candidate or their campaign. Both Schultz’s campaign and Minnesota for Freedom used the same agent, Steve Syckes, to buy $800,000 in television advertisements directed at Schultz’s opponent, incumbent Keith Ellison (DFL).

Since this ad buy would count as a direct contribution to the Schultz campaign and Minnesota for Freedom exceeded the limit of $2,500 for campaign contributions, the Schultz campaign’s maximum penalty is up to four times the amount by which the contribution exceeded; in this case, $844,500. The maximum would be $3.3 million, making it one of the largest fines in Minnesota history.

The Minnesota for Freedom group is funded by large oil, pharmaceutical and tobacco companies. Their fines could balloon up to $6.6 million for Minnesota for Freedom, according to the third of the Campaign Finance Board’s determination.

Schultz is also a staunch opponent of abortion rights and sat on the board of a nonprofit that spread misinformation about abortion and reproductive health care.