Utah Dem Sen. Pick Seeks FEC Rules Change For Influencers

The Democrat nominee running to fill Republican Mitt Romney's seat in the U.S. Senate wants the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to update its rules for social media influencers, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

Caroline Gleich, an online content creator and professional ski mountaineer, is set to face Republican Rep. John Curtis in November to fill the U.S. Senate seat held by Romney, who is retiring.

The Post reported she filed a request with the FEC to sidestep campaign finance rules that she argued disadvantage social media influencers who make a living off sponsored posts.

Any sponsored post that features Gleich 90 days before the Nov. 5 election is considered "coordinated communication" and would count as an in-kind contribution, and be listed in her campaign finance reports, the Post reported, citing FEC rules. Gleich wants the FEC to rule that sponsored posts are "business communications" and be exempt.

Gleich told the Post, a brand canceled a deal with her because of the rule. She is believed to be the first social media influencer to run for Congress, and her task is formidable in a deeply Republican state.

"I have two other brands that I've been working with for years that are both very strongly thinking about canceling their contracts because of the general uncertainty," Gleich told the Post.

Campaign finance analysts said the FEC probably will have to update its rules to reflect the age of social media influencers.

"These rules were written when social media was in its infancy," Daniel Weiner, director of the elections and government program at the Brennan Center, a nonpartisan law and policy institute, told the Post. "They just don't take into account the whole concept of a social media influencer."

Gleich said the U.S. needs more social media influencers to run for federal office and make Capitol Hill more tech-savvy.

"Content creators know firsthand the impacts of troll farms, algorithms, and the threats to American democracy," Gleich said.

Social media influencers Jake Paul and Jimmy Donaldson, whose alias is MrBeast, have expressed an interest in running for president.