The New Mexico Attorney General’s Office issued a warning in a press release today that appears to be directly targeted at a new conservative nonprofit which has marketed itself as a counterweight  to progressive nonprofits.

Attorney General Gary King has battled with the progressive nonprofits for months over what he sees as improper electioneering.

“There is talk of at least one emerging nonprofit group that apparently believes it will have more “wiggle room” to get involved in political activity,” King is quoted as saying in the release. “The truth is they can wiggle as much as they want as long as they comply with campaign finance laws.”

The conservative nonprofit in question is the Southwest Citizens Coalition. It is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit. These nonprofits can engage in political activity as long as political activity is not their main purpose.

For example, the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund is primarily a nonprofit that  advocates on environmental issues, but also occasionally engages in political activity.

So what is the purpose of this new conservative nonprofit? From an earlier New Mexico Independent story:

[Allen McCulloch] made clear in an e-mail to the Independent that while the group will focus on “promoting the discussion of public policy issues and encouraging participation in the governmental process by all segments of society,” there’s definitely a political purpose to the organization.

“We will continue to advise the Secretary of State’s Office that nonprofits engaging in targeted election-related activities are required to disclose their donors’ contributions and expenditures just like every other political action committee,” King added.