Tag: campaign finance

Money Issues, Paranoia, And A Hurled Phone: Blistering Reports Detail Ken Martin’s Collapsing DNC

The Democratic National Committee is running on fumes, and chairman Ken Martin is headed for a full-blown mental breakdown, according to a pair of blistering reports.

A New York Times report published Sunday revealed that the committee is $2 million in the hole and begging vendors to sit on their invoices until after the midterms.

The DNC quietly put the Southeast Washington building up as collateral last year to land a $15 million line of credit and bankroll off-year races, according to DC deed records not previously reported, according to NOTUS. The party has pawned the property, which it only partially owns, in past cycles. But going back to the well ahead of 2026 for the biggest off-year loan in committee history set off alarms among members who saw it as one more flashing red light.

“Ken gaslighting us about the DNC’s finances and not being transparent about the financial situation makes us doubt if he can oversee the DNC during the most important primary of our lifetime,” an unnamed DNC member told NOTUS.

The Republican National Committee is sitting on $128.5 million, and President Trump’s main super PAC, MAGA Inc., closed out June with roughly $400 million in the bank.

The DNC has downplayed the alarm. Roger Lau, the committee’s executive director, told the Times that the request for vendors to hold their invoices was “nothing more than standard negotiations with vendors over contracts and payment processes.”

Meanwhile, the pressure mounting on Martin is showing, according to the Times:

In a pique of frustration in early July, he threw his phone at the desk of a junior aide while upbraiding the person. The phone-tossing incident resulted in a formal complaint to the D.N.C.’s human resources department.

The fallout from the phone-throwing episode was described by half a dozen people familiar with the incident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal party matters. None of them witnessed the encounter, and there was some dispute over how aggressively the phone was tossed. Mr. Martin was said to have thrown the phone at the desk, rather than at the aide.

Unsurprisingly, the DNC refused to comment on the incident.

To make matters worse, Martin has reportedly developed a “growing sense of paranoia” about a possible push to dump him and is “paralyzed by the idea of leaks.”

“It pisses me off when I see leaks out of this building,” Martin lamented during a meeting in May. “No more of that shit. No more.“

“My success is your success,” he added. “So the weaker I am, the weaker all of you are.”

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‘Not appropriate’: Blue-state attorney general paid $570 an hour to law firm that contributed to his campaign

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown’s office agreed to pay $570 an hour to attorneys at an outside law firm that contributed to Brown’s campaign, records obtained by The Center Square show.

Four additional law firms that received contracts with the AG’s office donated to the campaign of Brown, a Democrat, records show. Together, the five firms and their affiliated political action committees contributed $30,250 to Brown’s campaign committee.

Brown’s office signed the contract with Ballard Spahr LLP of Philadelphia in November 2022. Two years earlier, the firm donated $2,500 to Friends of Anthony Brown, Brown’s campaign committee, according to state campaign finance records. Two months after the contract was signed, the law firm donated another $2,500. The contract also pays paralegals $295 an hour. If renewed, attorney rates increased to $595 an hour and paralegal rates to $315 an hour.

Brown’s office initially refused to release the hourly rates but reversed course Wednesday after The Center Square appealed to the Public Access Ombudsman, a voluntary, confidential mediator.

The Center Square requested the records for contracts with outside counsel since 2023, the year Brown, 61, took office. Brown’s office released two outside-counsel contracts and the names of 81 law firms, lawyers and legal nonprofits with which it entered into agreements.

The redaction was at odds with two recent rulings by the state’s Public Information Act Compliance Board, which held that another government agency should make similar payment information public.

Under the contract, Ballard Spahr may represent multiple state agencies, including the Maryland Department of Transportation and the Department of General Services. A Ballard Spahr spokesman did not respond to two requests for interview.

The office also declined to provide bidding documents or requests for proposals to show how the contracts were issued and the total amounts paid the firms.

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REPORT: Democrat Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia Spends More on Makeup Than AOC and Rashida Tlaib

Democrat Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia is apparently very concerned about his appearance and wants to appear as dainty as possible because according to a new report from the Washington Free Beacon, he spends more on makeup than some members of the Squad.

We’re not here to judge Senator Ossoff. Most Democrats want to look their best when they’re playing for the cameras of their fans in the media.

One has to wonder what his nighttime routine is like for skin moisturizer. Do you think he wears a mask?

From the Washington Free Beacon:

Jon Ossoff Spends Thousands on ‘Makeup Services’ From Artist Who Worked on Hollywood Blockbusters Like ‘The Notebook’

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D., Ga.) has spent thousands of dollars in campaign funds on “makeup services” in 2026, and his artist of choice has a long list of Hollywood credits, including The Notebook and The Hunger Games, a Washington Free Beacon review found.

Ossoff has paid makeup artist Stephanie Ponder $2,887 for “makeup services” since February, federal campaign finance disclosures show. The most recent payment of $900 came on June 10. An advertisement on the online production crew directory SHOOTS describes Ponder as an Atlanta-based freelancer and member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees who offers “Services for all phases of Makeup: Film, Video, Print, Runway.” It also includes credits on films like the Disney-produced Denzel Washington hit Remember the Titans…

Ossoff’s four-figure makeup expenditures stand out among federal candidates. The Georgia senator who is running for reelection against Republican Rep. Mike Collins (Ga.), has reported spending more on makeup than any other candidate this year, beating out the likes of far-left Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) and Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.). Ocasio-Cortez has spent $1,837.93 on “campaign event hair & makeup services” in 2026, while Tlaib has spent $320 on “hair and makeup services.”

The spending also comes as liberal media figures praise the 39-year-old Ossoff’s carefully managed on-camera presence and float him as a prospective 2028 presidential candidate.

How nice for him.

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Democrats Are Panicking and Scrambling to Hide Something Big

Things just keep getting worse for the Democratic Party, and at this rate, they may need a new metaphor because “keeps getting worse” barely covers it anymore. We already told you the polls are tightening heading into the midterms in November, which was bad enough on its own. Now it turns out the party’s situation is so much worse than we already know, and the people running the show apparently don’t want you to know just how bad it really is

In a bizarre move, the Democratic National Committee required its senior leadership to sign non-disclosure agreements before a private meeting on the party’s finances, according to two people familiar with the conversations who spoke to Axios. That alone is a break from past practice. DNC officers are high-ranking members of chair Ken Martin’s team, not entry-level staffers. Officers at that level don’t typically get handed a confidentiality agreement before they can hear how much money they have in their piggy bank and what they plan to do about it.

Make no mistake about it, you don’t slap NDAs on your own leadership team unless you’re worried about what might leak. And boy, it’s gotta be something really juicy.

The private senior officers’ meeting happened on June 25, five days before the Supreme Court issued a ruling that reshaped party fundraising rules. Martin has been fending off a crisis of confidence among Democrat donors, operatives, and even DNC members over how he’s managing the party, especially with the Republican National Committee sitting on a huge fundraising advantage without any debt.

And the numbers justify the panic. Through the end of May, the DNC had nearly $15 million on hand but $18 million in debt. The RNC, meanwhile, had $125 million on hand and zero debt. In other words, the Democrat Party is running on fumes, and they know it.

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SAD TROMBONE: Democrats Blew a Cool $16 Million on Graham Platner’s Failed Senate Campaign

For the Democrats, when it comes to Graham Platner, the hits just keep on coming.

Not only is Graham Platner now being forced out of the Maine senate race, Democrats wasted a stunning $16 million on his train wreck of a campaign.

Their party is already struggling with fundraising, so this is a double-whammy for them. They were so excited by the idea of winning this race that they never paused to actually vet the guy. Now they’re paying for it in more ways than one.

Breitbart News reports:

Democrat Party Vaporized $16 Million Pushing Failed ‘Nazi Tattoo’ Candidate Graham Platner in Maine

The Democrat Party used up a mountain of cash in support of Maine’s Graham Platner, who suspended his campaign for the U.S. Senate on Wednesday in light of sexual assault allegations.

Platner was accused of breaking into Jenny Racicot’s home and sexually assaulting her in 2021 when the pair were in an “on-and-off relationship,” Breitbart News reported Monday, noting other women have accused him of targeting them.

Now, the Democrat Party and other organizations are no longer backing him, WGME reported Tuesday.

“According to the latest data from the Federal Election Commission, as of May 20, Platner has raised more than $16 million since last July. He managed to spend more than $14 million of that, leaving just over $2 million in the bank,” the outlet said.

“Under guidelines by the FEC, a candidate who drops out does have control over leftover funds,” the report continued, adding, “The candidate can return the money to donors, transfer up to $2,000 per election to other federal, state, local or foreign candidates, or donate to charitable organizations.”

And of course, most of it came from out of state.

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Top Dem Senator Under Federal Investigation Over Campaign Spending

Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) is under federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for suspected campaign finance violations, according to.

The probe originated from a whistleblower complaint filed from Southern California, the outlet reported.

The investigation centers on the use of funds from Gallego’s political action committee for family travel and related expenses. Specific examples cited in connection with the allegations include trips to Miami, Chicago, Disneyland, and Disney World.

These matters were previously examined as part of a separate congressional ethics process.

A review of federal campaign finance records from Politico detailed additional spending by Gallego’s campaign committee and his leadership PAC, Juntos PAC. The records show more than $18,000 in reimbursements for child care since 2019, including payments to an au pair company and a $400 payment to Gallego’s mother-in-law for babysitting during a campaign fundraiser.

The leadership PAC covered costs for family travel to locations including a Miami Beach hotel stay exceeding $9,000 for a birthday celebration that also involved political events, a Chicago trip with nearly $1,500 in lodging that included a fundraiser, and meals and hotels at Disneyland and Disney World totaling nearly $1,500 (excluding flights).

Family members, including Gallego’s wife Sydney, their children, and an au pair, joined multiple trips. A joint fundraising committee with former Rep. Eric Swalwell also covered expenses related to the 2023 Super Bowl in Arizona, including event tickets and a pre-game brunch.

Gallego has stated that the expenditures comply with Federal Election Commission rules. In response to the Politico reporting, he wrote that such travel with family members for campaign and fundraising purposes is permitted and occurs regularly among members of Congress from both parties, noting the rising costs of child care.

A spokesperson for Gallego described the Miami trip as part of a multi-stop political and fundraising swing and the Chicago trip as including a fundraiser and attendance at political events.

Juntos PAC, established in February 2024, has raised nearly $1.5 million, with more than half of the funds coming from corporate PACs. Leadership PACs are subject to different rules than principal campaign committees and allow greater flexibility for expenditures tied to fundraising activities.

Gallego’s office has noted that the senator proactively established a legal defense fund in the preceding month.

The investigation follows the closure of an inquiry by the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. In a letter dated June 26, 2026, the committee informed Gallego that it “did not find evidence that your actions violated Federal law, Senate Rules or related standards of conduct.” The ethics inquiry stemmed from a complaint filed in April by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), which alleged campaign finance violations and inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature.

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Sherrod Brown Took Nearly $4.9M from Wall Street-Affiliated and Billionaire Donors While Railing Against Them

Former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who is running for U.S. Senate in 2026 against Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH), has spent decades casting himself as a blue-collar populist, but donor data reviewed by Breitbart News shows he has taken at least $4,887,980 from donors affiliated with Wall Street, big banking institutions, investment firms, and billionaires throughout his political career

Brown has accused his opponent of taking money from “Wall Street” and “billionaires,” declared “Workers > Wall Street,” said “Wall Street does not believe in the dignity of work,” and claimed, “We continue to see the power Wall Street has over the political system.” He has also said that “making all Ohioans’ lives easier” is what he is “fighting for,” while saying his opponent is “fighting for billionaires” and arguing that Ohioans deserve a senator who fights for them, “not billionaires and special interests.”

A campaign donor list reviewed by Breitbart News includes liberal billionaires such as JB Pritzker, Tom Steyer, George Soros, Alex Soros, Steven Spielberg, James and Kathryn Murdoch, and George Lucas. 

The list also includes wealthy donors from finance, investment, and broader business circles, including Henry Laufer, Marsha Laufer, Seth Klarman, Katharine Rayner, Stewart Resnick, Jonathan Tisch, Donald Sussman, and Penny Pritzker.

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Lack Of Intellectual Diversity! Close To 100% of Dartmouth Faculty Donations Went to the Political Left During 2026 Midterms

In the latest not-so-shocking campus news, it has been reported at Campus Reform, “Faculty at Dartmouth College sent nearly every dollar of political donations during the midterm election cycle to Democrats and related liberal causes.  

This bad news shows Woke Ideology remains dominant on so-called “elite” campuses, and the universities continue to disrespect the American people.

“A Campus Reform analysis of Federal Election Commission data found that the New Hampshire-based Ivy League school’s faculty gave $119,865.93 to the left, representing 99.8 percent of total contributions.”

No doubt if this percentage went to Republicans or conservative causes, there would be outrage throughout the media and the so-called liberal intelligentsia.

According to this sadly hardly surprising report, “ActBlue, a Democratic fundraising platform, received the most money from donors, pulling in $80,369.91 across 3,219 donations from 279 individual donors.”

“WinRed, the Republican fundraising equivalent, received 10 donations from 3 donors for a total of $162.14.”

This news is pathetic but hardly shocking, as the university has become an incubator for left-wing radicalism.

“The top donors to the left included Paul Guyre, former professor in the Geisel School of Medicine, who gave $17,925, and Albert Mulley, the managing director of the school’s Global Health Care Delivery Science Program, who contributed $7,120.”

“Bethany Moreton, a faculty affiliate of the school’s Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program, also donated $2,816 through 189 individual contributions.”

This all points to direct evidence that the professors have a liberal agenda and are intent on not educating but indoctrinating students.

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Report: Ruben Gallego Used Campaign Donations for Babysitting and Luxury Family Trips, Including Disneyland, Disney World, Super Bowl

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) repeatedly used campaign cash for child care and luxury outings with his family since launching his campaign for Senate in 2023.

That according to a report Sunday by Politico that scrutinized the senator’s campaign finance records and spoke with an unnamed source familiar with the lawmaker’s spending.

The Arizona Democrat used his leadership political action committee (PAC) to fund recent trips to Miami, Chicago, Disneyland, and Disney World with his family, according to the report.

Federal Election Commission records also show Gallego tapped his PAC and his main campaign committee for more than $18,000 in reimbursements for child care since 2019, including paying his wife’s mother $400 for babysitting.

Gallego also used a joint campaign account with disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) to attend the 2023 Super Bowl in Arizona with his wife, Sydney, according to the political news outlet.

According to Politico:

Federal lawmakers can legally use campaign committee funds for travel, food, events and even child care, as long as those funds are not for “personal use,” meaning they may not cover activities that would exist irrespective of the campaign, according to the FEC. Leadership PACs are not even beholden to that “personal use” rule, meaning lawmakers have broad latitude to use the money they raise as long as it has some fundraising function. Ruben Gallego has leaned into that leeway, with his three children, Sydney Gallego, her mother and their full-time au pair frequently joining the senator on donors’ dime, according to the person, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the situation.

“He just spends his campaign account like it’s his personal slush fund,” the source told the outlet. “He’s using campaign cash to live a luxury lifestyle.”

Gallego appeared unconcerned about donor funds being used to pay for family travel or child care and did not dispute the numbers.

“This is not breaking news,” he said in a statement to Politico. “With the rising costs of child care and the burden it has on the budgets of American families, Democrats and Republicans in Congress and the White House alike regularly travel with their wives and children, as is permitted by the FEC.”’

Gallego is reportedly considering a presidential run in 2028.

The source familiar with the senator’s spending habits told the outlet there was concern among some of Gallego’s aids that he would fail the required vetting to be president or vice president.

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Swalwell Ordered By FEC To Return Campaign Contributions

Former California congressman Eric Swalwell was ordered by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) June 15 to return all donations received during his bid for governor before dropping out of the race.

The agency charged with enforcing federal campaign finance laws threatened Swalwell with an audit or enforcement action if he fails to give back $30,075 in contributions that 16 donors made to his campaign committee, according to a letter sent to the former candidate.

“Failure to comply with the provisions of the Act may also result in an enforcement action against the committee.“

In the letter, FEC Senior Campaign Finance Analyst Mary Seiler also stated Swalwell would not be eligible to request a time extension to give the money back.

According to the letter, the FEC requires candidates to return contributions to the donors if they drop out of a race. Swalwell did return some of the donations, but not all of them, according to the agency.

General election contributions can’t be used to pay off primary debts or other obligations, the FEC noted.

All refunds were required to be made by July 20. If not, the commission may take further legal action in the case, the FEC said.

Swalwell and his attorney, Sara Azari, didn’t return requests for comment about the FEC’s demands.

Swalwell dropped out of the governor’s race in April after multiple women stepped forward with sexual assault allegations, which he has denied. He also faced a U.S. House of Representatives ethics investigation over the accusations and a call from his party to resign.

The former congressman and candidate continues to face criminal and ethical investigations over the allegations.

His official state campaign finance disclosure information shows Swalwell collected donations from individuals and organizations until the day he resigned April 13. The last-minute donors included the United Food and Commercial Workers Western States Council Candidate PAC, California Dairies, real estate developer Jeff Worthe, and Greater Anesthesia Service and PAC – each of which gave him $39,200.

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