Indianapolis Star: Secretary of State candidate Diego Morales used campaign funds for $43,000 car

Days before Hoosier Republicans chose Diego Morales as their secretary of state nominee, Morales’ campaign spent $43,845 on a new car, a purchase that experts say raises some eyebrows for a candidate that already has some liabilities.

His campaign purchased a Toyota RAV4, a compact SUV, from a car dealership in Terre Haute on June 15, Morales’ second quarter campaign finance report shows, as first reported by IndyPolitics.org. That was less than a week before Morales faced three other secretary of state candidates at the state GOP convention on June 18, which means at the time Morales had no guarantee he would be advancing to the general election. …

Julia Vaughn, executive director of Common Cause Indiana, a government accountability group, said it’s “unusual” for a candidate to spend that much money on a new vehicle.

“Certainly a state wide candidate, we’ve seen them use campaign money to support transportation costs, but typically it’s a more measured approach — they lease a vehicle, enter into some sort of long term rental,” Vaughn told IndyStar. “To buy a vehicle for $43,000 in June when you know you won’t be using it for campaign purposes after the first Tuesday in November, is a very curious decision to make.”

Vaughn added that it “looks like this vehicle could turn into a personal vehicle,” but according to Morales’ campaign, he plans to sell the car after the election, reverting those funds back to the campaign fund.