A congressional primary race in Tennessee will test the boundaries of campaign finance laws. Robert Kirkland, who co-founded Kirkland’s home décor and gift stores, has already spent more than $750,000 to get his brother elected to Congress.

Robert Kirkland is shelling out tens of thousands of dollars a week on campaign mailers, polls and primarily media buys. There’s no cap for what’s called an “independent expenditure,” but the individual can’t be in cahoots with the candidate. Otherwise, the same $2,400 contribution limit applies.

The candidate is Ron Kirkland, who is a physician from Jackson. He says his brother Robert is operating on his own. Just to be safe, Kirkland says they aren’t speaking except regarding health matters.

“He’s exercising his right of free speech. I don’t know what he’s going to say or when he’s going to say it. For me to comment any further would get into a gray area about me coordinating things with him, and that’s not what we’re in it, we’re doing.”

An attorney in Humboldt has already filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, suggesting the Kirkland brothers do appear to be working together. However, election finance experts say absent a smoking gun, such coordination cases are notoriously tough to prove.