A Lynnfield nonprofit with ties to Bay State Republicans funneled more than $1.1 million into two failed ballot questions backed by Gov. Charlie Baker without disclosing its donors, which included former Gov. Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign committee, officials said today.
The group, Strong Economy for Growth, was ordered to pay a $31,000 penalty and file paperwork revealing its donors after the Office of Campaign and Political Finance determined it violated the state campaign finance law.
The nonprofit had “an intent to influence the election,” OCPF said. It donated $990,000 to Great Schools Massachusetts, the committee that pushed a ballot question lifting the state cap on charter schools, and another $178,000 to a Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts, which opposed the ballot question to legalize marijuana.