Where Is Trey Hollingsworth's Financial Disclosure Statement?

Trey Hollingsworth is self-financing his campaign as a candidate for the 9th District congressional seat to replace U.S. Rep. Todd Young, who is seeking the Republican nomination for Senate this year to fill the seat currently held by Sen. Dan Coats. Hollingsworth did not become a resident of the 9th District until he registered to vote in Jeffersonville last fall. He's a Tennessee native, born and raised in Clinton, Tennessee where his father, Joe Hollingsworth, is a multi-millionaire businessman and founder and owner of The Hollingsworth Companies.

According to his initial filing with the Federal Election Commission, Hollingsworth donated $91,077 to his own campaign and loaned it an additional $594,500. That combined amount of $685,578 he's either contributed or loaned to his campaign represented all but $8,400 of his reported contributions. All but one of the five individual contributors to his campaign were from out-of-state, including three from his home state of Tennessee and one from Texas.

All candidates for Congress are required to file with the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives a financial disclosure statement listing a candidate's debts, assets, sources of income and potential conflicts of interests. Those reports are due within thirty (30) days of the candidate launching his or her campaign; however, a candidate can request an extension of up to 90 days to file the report. Hollingsworth's original filing deadline was November 20, 2015. He requested a 90-day extension to file his report, which made it due on February 18, 2016. According to the publicly-accessible database at the House Clerk's website, Hollingsworth has not filed his report.

Perhaps this is an oversight. Hollingsworth can still file the report if he pays a late filing fee of $200. The Ethics in Government Act permits fines of up to $11,000 to be imposed on individuals who fail to file required reports. Given Hollingsworth's recent arrival in Indiana, this should be of some concern to 9th District voters. Hollingsworth's father is obviously an independently wealthy man, but we know very little about the 32-year old Trey Hollingsworth.

Hollingsworth's website says he started Hollingsworth Capital Partners, a company based in Clinton, Tennessee that rehabilitates warehouses and manufacturing sites in Indiana and across the country. HCP operates Alexin, LLC, an aluminium re-manufacturing plant in Bluffton that employs about a hundred workers. He may well be a very successful businessman, but it's rather disturbing that someone can just move into the state a few months before an election and buy a seat representing Hoosiers in Congress. Hollingsworth has several opponents in the May primary election, including State Sen. Erin Houchin, State Sen. Brent Waltz and Attorney General Greg Zoeller. Who encouraged Hollingsworth to move his residency to Indiana and jump into this congressional race?

Trey Hollingsworth (left) with his sister Nicci and his father, Joe

Advance Indiana isn't just singling out Hollingsworth in this race. We previously told you about how Attorney General Greg Zoeller's financial disclosure statement omitted key information. Zoeller quickly filed an amended report within days of our initial report. We also discussed Houchin's and Waltz's disclosure statements, which by all appearances were transparent. Once upon a time, the Indiana mainstream media was much more vigilant in holding a candidate's feet to the fire on such matters. Once a Gannett newspaper becomes the leading media source in the state, such matters tend to go unreported.