Bethany Hall-Long’s campaign audit finds no wrongdoing

DOVER, Del. – Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long has issued an update on her run for Governor after she announced last month that her campaign finances were being audited.

Summit CPA, a Delaware-based certified public accounting firm, was brought on board to audit Hall-Long’s campaign finances.

As part of the audit, Summit reviewed hundreds of receipts of campaign-related expenses and loans Bethany and her husband made dating back to her first campaign for statewide office in 2016.

While reporting errors were made, they determined that Bethany and her husband lent more for campaign-related expenses over the course of prior campaigns than they were reimbursed for. No wrongdoing or violations were found according to the audit.

The firm found that Hall-Long and her husband covered various campaign-related expenses using personal credit cards and loans that were not accurately reflected in previous campaign finance reports.

“When we identified these discrepancies, we immediately took the responsible step of halting our fundraising efforts and bringing in a CPA firm to examine our records,” Hall-Long said in a statement. “We also took the extra step of informing the public of this self-initiated process.”

Hall-Long went on to say that when it came to the loans and expenses, some were not entered correctly, but the campaign is reconciling their account.

“During these campaigns, there were times my husband and I lent the campaign money or charged campaign-related expenses to our credit cards,” Hall-Long stated. “Some of the loans and expenses were not correctly entered. With the help of accountants, we are reconciling the campaign account.”

Hall-Long halted fundraising efforts last month following the announcement of the audit. Now, moving forward, she says she’s ready to resume that fundraising and move forward with the campaign.

“Going forward, we have engaged a top compliance firm to handle all recordkeeping associated with my campaigns, and in the coming months we will be amending prior years’ campaign reports with the Department of Elections on a rolling basis,” Hall-Long said in the statement. “My campaign is now ready to resume fundraising and all related activities. I got into politics to help people, plain and simple. I look forward to the upcoming campaign and continuing to serve the people of Delaware.”

Hall-Long announced her bid for Governor in September. She is set to face New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer in the Delaware primary election set for September 10, 2024.