Tennessee state Sen. Diane Black's (R) first congressional campaign solicitation is raising a few sticky ethical questions relating to the separation of campaign and official government business.
Friday's email included a fundraising pitch by Black, who on Thursday evening entered the race to replace retiring Rep. Bart Gordon (D).
"I recognize that this is the Holy Season and the economy is fragile with many suffering," Black wrote. "The hardest part of running for office is asking for money but by the first filing in January I must have at least $100,000 in the bank. Please consider my request and thank you for your continued love and support."
The problem is the email also included Tennessee's official state seal and, for contact information, lists Black's state legislative office phone number and address.
The email also includes the names of the state Republican leadership along the side column of the solicitation, a space often used to list endorsements when it comes to campaign emails.
Black has yet to announce any official endorsements and one Republican whose name appears on the email, state Sen. Jim Tracy, certainly won't be supporting her campaign. He's also running for the GOP nomination in the 6th district.
http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/eyeon2010/2009/12/blacks-fundraising-letter-rais.html