Who says refunds are forever?

After the state Supreme Court reinstated the cap on campaign contributions, State Senate hopeful Rodney Hubbard was one of several candidates forced to return thousands in big checks.

But, thanks to the magic of political action committees, Hubbard was able to recoup much of the money he gave back to a key benefactor, millionaire school-choice enthusiast Rex Sinquefield.

As we have written many times, Sinquefield controls a web of PACs that allows him to continue dropping large amounts of cash in a race, despite the limits on political donations. But instead of giving one large check personal check - as he did when the donation cap was briefly erased - Sinquefield distributes dozens of smaller contributions through his collection of political committees.

The result: Candidates such as Hubbard get the same amount of money from Sinquefield - maybe even more - despite the return of campaign contribution limits.

For instance, the quarterly financial report submitted by Hubbard this week lists a refund to Sinquefield for $30,000. On the same report, however, Hubbard lists more than 50 donations of $675 each made from political committees funded by Sinquefield.

That’s a total of about $35,000, which means that Hubbard actually came out ahead, despite the refund to Sinquefield.

Of course, this play is not unique to Hubbard: Mayor Francis Slay has benefited from corporate donors using the shell corporations and holding companies at their disposal to maximize contributions.

Hubbard’s financial report shows him with about $105,000 on hand, putting him far ahead of at least one rival - State Rep. Connie Johnson, who raised less than $500 this period.

The latest report for Hubbard’s other opponent, State Rep. Robin Wright-Jones, is not available yet.

Hubbard (left) and Sinquefield