Andrew Gillum Raids Campaign Funds to Pay $440K for Defense Lawyers

Andrew Gillum’s political action committee (PAC) from his failed bid for Florida governor recently paid his Miami lawyers $440,181, according to reports filed with the Division of Elections.

Gillum was indicted in June on multiple charges connected to campaign contribution fraud before and during his 2018 run for governor of Florida. The 21 count indictment includes conspiracy charges, wire fraud and making false statements.

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Whitmer, Challengers Bolster War Chests for Michigan Gubernatorial 2022 Race

James Craig and Gretchen Whitmer

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s 2022 campaign funds have grown to about $12.6 million after raking in $3.1 million between July 21 and Oct. 20.

The Democratic governor has continued claiming an exemption to accept contributions above the state-imposed limit of $7,150 from an individual throughout the entire election cycle. Whitmer’s campaign says it can do this, citing a loophole by which donors may exceed campaign funding limits if their candidate of choice is facing a recall election. Despite several past recalls against the governor over the past three years, none are currently active.

The GOP has challenged this strategy in court, where an Oct. 13 court filing suggests roughly $3.4 million in excess donations must be returned or given to a charity since no recalls are active. New large contributions include Whitmer’s father, Richard Whitmer ($40,000), billionaire George Soros ($25,000), and Vice-Chair of the Detroit Pistons Arn Tellem ($25,000).

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Congressman Eric Swalwell Spends Thousands in Campaign Funds on Limousine, Hotel, Other Luxury Services

Congressman and former presidential candidate Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) has been discovered as having spent tens of thousands of dollars from campaign funds on luxury goods and services in the second quarter of the year, Breitbart reports.

According to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) report, reviewed by Fox News, the Swalwell re-election campaign spent over $30,000 on luxuries such as limousines, high-class restaurants, hotels, and alcohol delivery services. The Democrat’s campaign funds paid for at least 26 different rides in limousines, amounting to well over $10,000.

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Complaint Filed Against State Sen. John Stevens for Misuse of Campaign Funds

A sworn complaint was filed against State Sen. John Stevens to the state’s Registry of Election Finance alleging the improper use of campaign funds for the August 6 Republican primary.

Stevens is finishing up his second term as senator for the state’s 24th district, having first been elected in 2012.  District 24 includes the counties of Benton, Carroll, Gibson, Henry, Obion and Weakley.

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Beto O’Rourke Paid His and His Wife’s Company $110,000 in Campaign Funds

by Peter Hasson   EL PASO, Texas — Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke paid roughly $110,000 in campaign funds to a web development company while either he or his wife owned it, public records show. Beto for Texas paid Stanton Street Technology Group $58,544 during the 2011-12 election cycle, $39,060 during the 2013-14 cycle, $9,290 in the 2015-16 cycle and $32,778 during the 2017-18 cycle, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records reviewed by The Daily Caller News Foundation. Either O’Rourke or his wife owned Stanton Street — a small web development firm that O’Rourke founded in 1998 — during the vast majority of those payments. Such payments are legal, so long as the campaign is charged for the actual cost of the services, but ethics watchdogs have criticized the practice as a form of self-dealing. O’Rourke’s wife, Amy Sanders O’Rourke, took over Stanton Street as the Texas Democrat entered Congress in January 2013. She controlled it until early 2017. Amy O’Rourke sold her stake in the company on March 31, 2017, according to Beto O’Rourke’s 2017 year-end financial disclosure report. He listed the sale value in the $100,001 to $1 million range. Beto O’Rourke reported between $100,000 and $1…

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Trump’s Cash Advantage for 2020 Has Democrats Worried

by Jason Hopkins   President Donald Trump’s huge cash reserves for the 2020 election has the Democratic Party concerned, with its leader asking supporters for donations to catch up. The Federal Election Commission revealed in October that Trump has over $100 million in cash on hand for the 2020 presidential race. Trump — who prepared for 2020 almost immediately after the last presidential election — raised more than $18 million in the last quarter via his campaigning committee and through fundraising ventures with the Republican National Committee. The Republican president’s huge war chest is prompting Democrats to solicit for more donations. “Now, we face our greatest challenge yet: Taking back the White,” Democratic Party Chairman Tom Perez wrote in a fundraising email to supporters. “Donald Trump already has years of campaigning under his belt and $100 million in the bank. It’s our job to build a strong, strategic party infrastructure that will give our Democratic nominee the best shot at taking him on and winning back the White House.” The advantage of incumbency goes a long way in U.S. politics. The last president to lose re-election was George H. W. Bush in 1992. As the Democratic Party waits for whomever…

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After Endorsing O’Rourke, Texas Newspaper Joins Ted Cruz in Calling for Beto to Answer Questions

by Molly Prince   The Dallas Morning News’s editorial board called on Democratic Rep. Robert Beto O’Rourke on Friday to provide clarification regarding where he stands on the migrant caravan that is heading towards the U.S border. O’Rourke, who is trying to unseat Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, has been dodging the issue, despite immigration and border security overwhelmingly being the top issues for voters in Texas. Cruz urged reporters on Friday to probe O’Rourke into what he intends to do if elected to the Senate on Nov. 6. “Two basic questions every reporter should ask Beto today,” Cruz tweeted. “(1) should the caravan be allowed to cross illegally into Texas? (Beto refuses to answer.) And (2) did your campaign dollars illegally fund their doing so?” Two basic Qs every reporter should ask Beto today: (1) should the “caravan” be allowed to cross illegally into Texas? (Beto refuses to answer.) And (2) did your campaign dollars illegally fund their doing so? https://t.co/5HcePn3AGs — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 2, 2018 Cruz’s second question was in reference to undercover footage that was released on Thursday by Project Veritas. In the video, O’Rourke’s campaign staff alluded to campaign resources that were being used to assist the migrants…

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