When you have to raise so much money to win an election, sometimes it's easy to let excess campaign contributions slide. Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) will have to pay about $100,000 in fines for receiving more than $313,000 in excessive campaign contributions in his 2004 election bid.

According to Roll Call this morning (the third story on the page):

Election regulators have fined Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) $99,000 for taking excessive campaign contributions and violating other election laws during his 2004 campaign.

 

According to a deal reached between the lawmaker and the Federal Election Commission earlier this month, Martinez’s campaign acknowledged that it took $313,000 in excessive campaign contributions, $95,000 of which was returned to contributors.

...

The agency’s enforcement division also found that Martinez’s campaign did not disclose $160,000 worth of last-minute donations and $320,000 raised from joint fundraising committees.

 

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Martinez raised over $12 million for his 2004 bid.