Whether we like it or not, it is expensive to run a serious political campaign, especially for a seat in the U.S. Senate. No candidate could ever raise enough money relying solely on donations from hard-working Mainers.

Fortunately, people here in Maine, and around the country, respect Sen. Susan Collins for her tireless, bipartisan efforts to help solve the nation’s most pressing problems. Her campaign has been fortunate to receive donations from people in all 50 states, including some who attended a fundraiser earlier this year in Missouri. However, a recent article (July 9) in the Sun Journal about the “joint fundraising committee” established for this specific event to benefit both Sens. Collins and her colleague, Lindsey Graham, misrepresented its purpose and may have given readers a false impression.

The fact is federal election law required this “committee” be set up simply because one supporter hosted one fundraiser where donations would be divided between two candidates. There is not an ongoing effort between Collins and Graham, or she and anyone else, to raise money. In other words, this joint committee is completely standard and Collins is just following the law. The article also failed to mention that virtually every candidate, including all other members of the Maine delegation, uses joint fundraising committees because they are legally required to do so if someone wants to host a fundraiser where costs can be split, and donations will be directed, to multiple candidates.

It turns out, sometimes, the truth actually isn’t stranger than fiction.

Kevin Kelley, spokesman for the Collins for Senator campaign, Bangor