https://www.washingtonsun.com/money Money en-US Mon, 14 Sep 2026 09:15:00 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/2026-election/marsha-blackburn-federal-joint-fundraising-tennessee-governor Dave Levinthal Some of the funds from her federal joint fundraising committee are making their way toward her gubernatorial bid. Mon, 14 Sep 2026 09:15:00 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/2026-election/marsha-blackburn-federal-joint-fundraising-tennessee-governor “INACCURACY DETECTED”

“CORRECTION REQUIRED”

“Your MAGA Loyalty File shows incorrect information”

“These emails won’t stop until we get an answer”

For months, Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s federal political operation has sent prospective donors incessant fundraising missives, many replete with false urgency and high pressure — tactics criticized by government agencies and elder advocacy groups. Sometimes, emails arrive multiple times a day.

They work: The Tennessee Republican’s operation has raised more than $9 million during the 2026 election cycle, according to Federal Election Commission records. Much of that money comes from tens of thousands of small-dollar contributions sent by individual donors who’ve responded to solicitations, records indicate.

Blackburn isn’t running for reelection to a federal office. She’s campaigning for state office — governor of Tennessee — where federal campaign dollars generally can’t get spent.

But some of that money is still wending its way toward her gubernatorial campaign. Federal and state campaign finance records indicate the senator’s federal joint fundraising committee, the Blackburn Tennessee Victory Fund, is helping seed a network of conservative Club for Growth super PACs with millions of dollars. And one of the network’s PACs is now spending millions of dollars to boost Blackburn’s gubernatorial campaign.

Blackburn’s novel financial machinations have alarmed some political ethics watchdogs, who say they blur lines between different campaigns and could skirt the spirit, if not the letter, of rules governing the intermingling of state and federal political cash.

“It raises red flags,” said Stuart McPhail, director of campaign finance litigation at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which generally supports stronger campaign finance laws. “It’s fair to ask, ‘Why is a state-level candidate using a federal committee in this way?’”

Blackburn’s Senate office directed questions to Blackburn’s gubernatorial campaign, which did not respond to repeated requests for comment. The Club for Growth and several of its connected super PACs did not respond to inquiries.

Blackburn’s multi-step transfer of political wealth to Club for Growth’s political committee network began last year with the Blackburn Tennessee Victory Fund, which is composed of her Senate campaign, federal leadership PAC and a federal arm of the Tennessee Republican Party:

• The Blackburn Tennessee Victory Fund shifted about $2.1 million to Marsha for Senate, Blackburn’s dormant Senate campaign committee over the course of 15 months, from March 2025 to June 2026.
• Marsha for Senate contributed $4.8 million to the Club for Growth Action super PAC on May 8, as first reported by the Tennessee Lookout.
• Club for Growth Action contributed $3.55 million to School Freedom Fund Oklahoma, an affiliated state-level political committee established in April, between May 11 and June 8.
• The School Freedom Fund — a related political committee funded by billionaire businessman Jeff Yass, and which shares a Washington, D.C., address with the School Freedom Fund Oklahoma — contributed $4.81 million to the Tennessee Freedom Fund between May 7 and July 7.
• The Tennessee Freedom Fund spent nearly $1.8 million between June 10 and July 9 to advocate for Blackburn’s gubernatorial campaign.

State and federal campaign finance records covering the groups’ activity during August and September aren’t slated for public release until next month.

Bradley Smith, a former Republican chairman of the Federal Election Commission, said the Blackburn Tennessee Victory Fund is legally permitted to continue raising money, particularly since Blackburn hasn’t categorically ruled out running for Senate in the future. (Her current term expires in early 2031.)

The Blackburn Tennessee Victory Fund and Marsha for Senate committees can legally contribute money to super PACs, which may then independently choose how to use that money, including in state races, Smith added.

Tennessee state law prohibits a federal campaign committee from transferring funds to a state-level committee maintained by the same candidate, but does not address the kind of financial moves the Blackburn Tennessee Victory Fund has made.

“There are good reasons to keep raising money for the federal committee,” said Smith, who’s now chairman of the Institute for Free Speech, which generally opposes strong campaign finance laws.

The bipartisan FEC would typically investigate any complaint accusing the Blackburn Tennessee Victory Fund, or any federal committee, of not complying with federal campaign finance rules.

But the commission has been almost entirely out of commission since May 1, 2025, when it lost its legally required quorum of four commissioners needed to execute high-level business, such as formalizing investigations, conducting audits, interpreting statutes, penalizing scofflaws and even conducting public meetings.

President Donald Trump, who alone may float new commissioners to fill empty seats, waited until February to float the Senate two nominees for confirmation. Since then, the Senate has failed to even conduct a confirmation hearing for the pair of Republicans, Ashley Stow and Andrew Woodson.

The FEC declined to comment.

“This underscores how we need a functioning FEC to investigate these questions,” said Faith Williams, senior policy manager for anti-corruption and accountability at Common Cause. “The Senate can do something about it — wouldn’t that be nice — but isn’t.”

Recent polls show Blackburn with a sizable lead over her main gubernatorial race rival, Democrat Jerri Green. The Republican entered August with about $2.7 million in her state campaign account. Green’s campaign, in contrast, had about $118,000.

Meanwhile, back at the federal level, the Blackburn Tennessee Victory Fund keeps asking potential donors for money with aggressive pitches:

“I reached the point I hoped we’d never hit”

“Notice of Rescindment”

“RESPOND ASAP TO CONFIRM YOUR MAGA CLEARANCE!”]]> https://www.washingtonsun.com/money/trump-pac-spending-senate-battleground-maine Jenna Monnin The president’s new political committee dropped millions across four new Senate races last week, but Trump’s spending is still quiet in Maine. Mon, 14 Sep 2026 01:12:13 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/money/trump-pac-spending-senate-battleground-maine President Donald Trump reported his largest spend so far this weekend, sending $21 million to candidates in competitive races as pressure ramps up for Republicans two months before the midterms.



The president’s Senate spending before Sept. 8 had largely concentrated on Republican nominee Ken Paxton in Texas, with his $10 million drop coming after party leaders urged him to get more involved. A set of financial disclosures filed Sept. 10-12 show Trump recently backed four additional battleground Senate candidates at the end of last week — while still ignoring incumbent Sen. Susan Collins’ toss-up race in Maine.



No Going Back PAC Inc. — a new committee formed Sept. 1 under Trump’s super PAC, MAGA Inc. — spent roughly $6.7 million in Ohio, $3.7 million in Michigan, $1.7 million in New Hampshire and $779,000 in Georgia, concentrated on TV-ad buys and mailers opposing the Democrats in those races.



Trump’s disbursements come as Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s new Texas PAC reported its first $6.6 million investment in the state’s Senate race on Sunday, with a combination of media and text-service buys in support of Paxton and against Democrat James Talarico. The group, associated with Thune’s Senate Leadership Fund super PAC, also reportedly booked more than $51 million in advertising Friday to help Paxton.



As the dust settles from a flurry of disclosures in the first two weeks of September, Thune’s political committee has now entered every major battleground Senate race, while Trump has yet to report dropping significant money in Maine.



Trump and Collins have had a complicated relationship, though he publicly voiced support for the senator’s reelection in June and called her a “sane person” even if “she’s not my best friend at all.” But the five-term senator has recently tried to distance herself from some of Trump’s most unpopular policies for her state, like the president’s ongoing trade war with Canada and a fatal shooting involving a federal immigration agent in July.



The president is going to soon embark on a national tour of in-person campaign stops and telerallies after hosting a midterm convention in Dallas last week, though some Republicans are still worried that Trump entered the spending spree too late in the game.



No Going Back also made expenditures in a new set of House races, including putting roughly $492,000 against Democrat Jamie Ager in North Carolina, $422,000 against Democrat Lindsay James in Iowa, $274,000 against Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez in Texas, $109,500 against Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman in Ohio and $65,000 against Democrat Sam Forstag in Montana.]]> https://www.washingtonsun.com/money/dozens-congressional-candidates-fail-file-financial-disclosures-complaint Taylor Giorno A new complaint by Campaign Legal Center knocked candidates for failing to file legally required reports detailing financial assets, liabilities and more. Fri, 11 Sep 2026 21:36:30 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/money/dozens-congressional-candidates-fail-file-financial-disclosures-complaint More than 70 congressional candidates whose names will appear on the general election ballot in November failed to file legally required personal financial disclosures, according to new complaints filed with the House and Senate ethics committees on Friday.

According to the complaints, filed by the Campaign Legal Center, 66 House candidates and 11 Senate candidates missed the deadline to disclose assets, liabilities, book deals and other financial information that all candidates and lawmakers have to file.

Candidates are required to file these disclosures by May 15, or within 30 days of becoming a candidate, although they can request extensions up to 90 days.

“When candidates fail to file their financial disclosure reports accurately and on time, they deprive voters of crucial information about the financial interests of those who hope to represent them,” the Campaign Legal Center wrote in its complaint to the House Ethics Committee. “In order to make an informed decision at the ballot box, voters need to know about any potential conflicts of interest their Congressional candidates may have, and whether the claims made to voters align with their personal finances.”

The Washington Sun analyzed the Senate and House disclosure databases to confirm none of the candidates had filed their personal financial disclosures. Several candidates told The Sun they were unaware of the requirement.

Oklahoma Democratic nominee N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas, who is running against Republican Rep. Kevin Hern, said her campaign had been unaware of the filing requirement before The Sun reached out for comment.

“It is a genuine administrative oversight from a first time candidate who has never held political office and is learning the complexities that come with running a federal campaign,” Thomas wrote in a statement. “Once this was brought to our attention, we immediately began reviewing the requirements and taking the necessary steps to correct the issue.”

Greg Howard Jr., the campaign co-chair for Amanda Pusczek, a Democratic congressional candidate in Alabama, told The Sun that the missed filing was “an unintentional administrative oversight on our end” and that the campaign was working to submit a disclosure.

The vast majority of the candidates who have failed to file are running in districts where their campaigns are considered long shots, as categorized by the Cook Political Report.

At least one candidate who has failed to file, Republican state Rep. Mark Tedford, the nominee in Oklahoma’s solid-red 1st Congressional District, is expected to win his seat in November.

The Tedford campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

But several other campaigns got back to The Sun, saying the missed disclosures were honest oversights.

The campaign spokesperson for Whitfield Harrington Jr., an independent candidate in Illinois, thanked The Sun for bringing the issue to their attention and said the team would be “contacting the appropriate officials to clarify the requirement, determine the applicable deadline, and make certain that any necessary action is handled promptly and through the proper process.”

Jeff Wadlin, a Libertarian Party Senate candidate in Arkansas, told The Sun that his accountant will file the financial disclosure in the coming days.

“As a third-party candidate, I didn’t know this was a requirement until recently,” Wadlin said.

Justin Murphy, the Republican nominee challenging incumbent Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey), told The Sun that his campaign had “filed the required preliminary disclosure paperwork with the appropriate committee, and we are awaiting further instruction from them on filing the required financial disclosure.”

Kyle Austin, the Libertarian nominee in Montana’s Senate race who was cited in the complaint, questioned why the Senate hadn’t notified him when he missed the deadline.

“They haven't put any effort into it, so the question is, do they even really care?” Austin said.

The other six candidates cited in the complaint did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Sun.

“Failing to enforce violations of the House’s transparency requirements may incentivize others to ignore the law,” the Campaign Legal Center wrote in the complaint. “The Ethics Committee should also provide updated guidance making the filing requirements and the penalties for not filing timely and accurate disclosure reports clear.”

Tom Rust, chief counsel and staff director for the House Ethics Committee, declined to comment. The offices of Senate Ethics Committee chair James Lankford and vice chair Chris Coons did not immediately respond to requests for comment.]]> https://www.washingtonsun.com/money/jim-justice-wealth-disclosure-west-virginia Mark Alfred The West Virginia Republican — a billionaire — blew past a federal transparency deadline. Fri, 11 Sep 2026 18:14:20 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/money/jim-justice-wealth-disclosure-west-virginia Sen. Jim Justice failed to properly submit an annual report detailing his billion-dollar personal fortune, blowing past a legal deadline despite requesting and receiving two extensions, The Washington Sun found.

Justice filed his annual financial disclosure on Tuesday, about a month past an Aug. 13 deadline mandated by the Ethics in Government Act.

The West Virginia Republican is the richest man in the Senate, with assets of about $1 billion — and possibly much more — mostly owed to his coal-mining enterprises. Justice regularly flies back and forth from Washington via private jet.

Senators, including Justice, are required by law to annually disclose their assets, liabilities and sources of income. Lawmakers need only disclose their assets’ value in ranges, and Justice’s disclosure includes over a dozen line items valued at “over $50,000,000,” making it impossible to nail down his exact net worth.

Justice’s office did not return a request for comment.

Justice’s tardy report, which covers financial activity during 2025, is similar to his previous annual disclosure from 2024: Justice continues to be extremely wealthy and maintains his various mining and energy assets as well as a surgery center and a golf and tennis club.

One line item from his earlier filing labeled “Blind Trust of James C Justice, II” that was valued at “over $50,000,000” isn’t included in Justice’s latest disclosure.

Justice’s latest report indicates his liabilities have grown by as little as $25.8 million and as much as $120 million during the past year.

Lexon Insurance Company sued Justice over “unpaid premiums and collateral owed on surety bonds” related to his coal mining businesses. The company was granted nearly $30 million in damages late last year.

Justice’s potential penalty for improperly disclosing his personal finances is decidedly more manageable: He faces a $200 fine, which the Senate Ethics Committee can choose to waive. The committee did not respond to a request for comment.

Justice joins an ever-growing list of federal lawmakers who’ve violated the Ethics in Government Act or the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act by failing to properly disclose their personal finances.

Since last summer, violators in the House include Reps. Gil Cisneros (D-California), Michael Rulli (R-Ohio), Shri Thanedar (D-Michigan), Tracey Mann (R-Kansas), Julie Johnson (D-Texas), Linda Sánchez (D-California), Julia Letlow (R-Louisiana), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Lisa McClain (R-Michigan), Pat Ryan (D-New York), Sheri Biggs (R-South Carolina), Derek Tran (D-California), Donald Norcross (D-New Jersey), Tim Walberg (R-Michigan), Rich McCormick (R-Georgia), Ritchie Torres (D-New York), Troy Nehls (R-Texas), Dan Meuser (R-Pennsylvania), Jonathan Jackson (D-Illinois), George Whitesides (D-California), Val Hoyle (D-Oregon), Austin Scott (R-Georgia), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Florida), Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington), Kelly Morrison (D-Minnesota), Christian Menefee (D-Texas), Daniel Webster (R-Florida), Ed Case (D-Hawaii), Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), Laurel Lee (R-Florida) and Scott Franklin (R-Florida). Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Oklahoma) was also late, although his office denies it.

Senators who’ve violated the STOCK Act during the past year include Sens. Alan Armstrong (R-Oklahoma), Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), Katie Britt (R-Alabama), Susan Collins (R-Maine), John Hickenlooper (D-Colorado), Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota) and John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania).]]> https://www.washingtonsun.com/money/air-force-one-flight-simulator-trump-qatar Mark Alfred The flight simulator for the Qatari-gifted plane is publicly funded and may not be ready for “24-36 months.” Thu, 10 Sep 2026 18:57:13 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/money/air-force-one-flight-simulator-trump-qatar The Trump administration on Wednesday awarded a $45.3 million contract to construct a flight simulator to train pilots and aircrew to fly his new Air Force One, a luxury Boeing 747-8 that was gifted to the United States by Qatar.

The sole-source contract between the Presidential and Executive Airpower Directorate and Florida-based CAE USA Inc. directs the company to install a “commercial FAA Level D certified 747-8i Full Flight Simulator” — the model of aircraft President Donald Trump accepted as a gift from the Qatari royal family — at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

Trump has long maintained that the gifted plane, estimated to be worth $400 million, came at no cost to taxpayers and that he would be “stupid” not to accept it. The flight simulator contract, however, demonstrates that there are taxpayer-funded costs associated with the new jumbo jet.

The contract also raises questions about the timeline for the Qatari-gifted plane. Trump has floated the idea of taking it with him after his presidency to showcase in his Florida presidential library. But the flight simulator specialized for the plane may take years to be ready, per the details of the contract.

The installation is expected to take “24-36 months from contract award,” with future support and maintenance estimated to last “12-18 months,” per the project description. That period “will also include the courseware and flight instruction to train pilots, instructors, and aircrew personnel.”

The simulator could get use, too, for a pair of future Air Force One 747-8 replacement planes that have been delayed for years, as well as an already-delivered 747-8 training aircraft.

CAE USA is a major contractor with the Department of Defense, having delivered flight simulators for other military aircraft, including B2 bombers and F-16 fighters. The company has manufactured “all of the commercial Level D certified 747-8 simulators worldwide,” according to an Air Force “Justification and Approval” document.

“The 747-8i FFS is vital for conducting initial pilot qualification, recurrent proficiency, as well as other aircrew training exercises,” the contract document reads.

The simulator is expected to have “full motion system with aerodynamic modeling and performance data, visual system, sound system, cockpit environment, aircraft systems simulation,” as well as “realistic aircraft movement and G-forces.”

The White House deferred questions about the contract and the future of the new Air Force One plane to the Department of Defense, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In July, Trump opted not to use either the new or old Boeing 747 normally used as Air Force One to fly back from Turkey. Instead, he flew out on a different, smaller government plane after sneaking out of the old Air Force One in a catering truck.

That same month, the Department of Justice issued, then retracted, subpoenas to New York Times reporters who had reported on security concerns surrounding the new Air Force One.

Trump’s trip Wednesday to a Republican convention in Dallas was delayed after one of the emergency slides on the new Air Force One plane was accidentally deployed.]]> https://www.washingtonsun.com/healthcare/trump-white-house-aca-obamacare-rebates-premium-spikes Paige Winfield Cunningham, Ben T.N. Mause Officials have been considering the idea for at least a year, worried voters will punish them for high health insurance costs. Thu, 10 Sep 2026 15:50:12 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/healthcare/trump-white-house-aca-obamacare-rebates-premium-spikes President Donald Trump announced that about 1 million Americans will receive $500 from the government as a rebate for excessive Affordable Care Act fees.

“Our administration is doing the right thing and giving the money back to the people who were wrongly ripped off,” Trump said in a video posted to X from the White House's account.

Trump said the rebate checks would go out “in just a few weeks.”

The administration said it would send the $500 checks to adults in 30 states, including multiple political battlegrounds with key races to be decided in November: Alaska, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Texas. The 30 states all rely on the federal marketplace Healthcare.gov, instead of running their own marketplaces.

The effort comes ahead of a second year of double-digit premium spikes on the marketplaces where Americans without employer-sponsored coverage can buy federally subsidized health plans.

Democrats, who passed the 2010 health care law creating the marketplaces, have faced criticism for costly marketplace plans.

But the script flipped last year after congressional Republicans refused to extend pandemic-era subsidies, prompting about 3 million people to leave the marketplaces as their costs rose again. Many middle-income people were no longer eligible for subsidies, leaving them struggling to afford their full monthly premiums.

Marketplace insurers in all 50 states are proposing to hike premiums a median of 15% next year, according to an analysis by KFF, a nonpartisan health policy organization.

Administration officials had floated the idea of rebates in fall 2025, according to sources inside the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Axios first reported the plan on Wednesday.

It's the second refund initiative Trump has announced within 24 hours. Speaking at the GOP midterm convention on Wednesday, Trump promised he would send a $5,000 dividend to every American adult if Republicans retain majorities in the House and Senate in the midterm elections. The proposal would cost roughly $1.35 trillion and would require congressional approval.

Trump also lauded a one-time dividend of $1,776 sent to military service members last December. The president has proposed other ideas to send money from the federal government to American citizens from savings the administration says came from efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency and tariff refunds. Neither materialized.

He also issued stimulus checks during his first administration to combat a sluggish economy beset by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his rebate announcement, Trump again pitched his health care plan — a scant, one-page proposal released earlier this year that suggests a few ways to cut costs in the nation’s health care system but falls far short of any kind of comprehensive reform.]]> https://www.washingtonsun.com/money/gil-cisneros-stock-act-disclosures-palantir Dave Levinthal Democratic Rep. Gil Cisneros of California was late revealing more than 50 trades. Tue, 08 Sep 2026 19:48:04 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/money/gil-cisneros-stock-act-disclosures-palantir One of Congress’ most prolific stock traders violated a federal insider trading and transparency law by failing to properly disclose six-figures’ worth of purchases, according to new U.S. House financial records.

Rep. Gil Cisneros (D-California), who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, was days or weeks late revealing more than 50 individual trades, including shares of defense contractors Palantir Technologies, Microsoft, Macom Technology Solutions and SPX Technologies.

Other tardy disclosures by Cisneros, who won a Mega Millions jackpot worth $266 million in 2010, include trades in cryptocurrency company Coinbase Global, computer chip giant Nvidia, media conglomerate Paramount Skydance Corporation and ride-hailing platform Uber.

Taken together, Cisneros’ improperly disclosed stock trades are worth between $95,000 and $900,000. (Lawmakers are only required to list the values of their trades in broad ranges.) The records come as the U.S. Senate is considering the House-approved Stop Insider Trading Act, which would in part ban federal lawmakers from buying individual stocks.

Representatives for Cisneros acknowledged NOTUS’ request for comment but did not otherwise respond to phone and email messages.

It’s unclear whether Cisneros has or will pay a late-filing fine administered by the House Ethics Committee, which begins at $200 and may be waived at the committee’s discretion. Representatives for the committee, which is led by Rep. Michael Guest (R-Mississippi) — himself as STOCK Act violator this summer — did not respond to a request for comment.

In February, Cisneros told NOTUS that he doesn’t manage his own investments, and therefore, does not believe that his personal stock holdings conflict with his public service in Congress.

NOTUS’ Capitol Gains project estimated Cisneros’ median net worth to be $65.91 million entering 2025.

“I have a financial adviser, and you look at the size of my portfolio and you’ll understand why I have a financial adviser who makes all the decisions, and I trust him to do it,” Cisneros said. “I trust my adviser. As I always say, I got very lucky in life and I want to be able to protect it.”

Cisneros has made hundreds of other stock trades during the 119th Congress, House records indicate.

Among them: purchasing up to tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of stock in Palantir, which also has scored Immigration and Customs Enforcement contracts, and $15,000 worth of SpaceX stock days after the Elon Musk-led company made its initial public offering of stock.

In June, Cisneros easily emerged from a competitive primary to advance to November’s general election, where he’s heavily favored to win reelection to California’s 31st Congressional District, which includes parts of eastern Los Angeles County.

In addition to Guest, Cisneros joins an ever-growing list of federal lawmakers who’ve violated the STOCK Act’s disclosure provisions.

Since last summer, violators in the House include Reps. Michael Rulli (R-Ohio), Shri Thanedar (D-Michigan), Tracey Mann (R-Kansas), Julie Johnson (D-Texas), Linda Sánchez (D-California), Julia Letlow (R-Louisiana), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Lisa McClain (R-Michigan), Pat Ryan (D-New York), Sheri Biggs (R-South Carolina), Derek Tran (D-California), Donald Norcross (D-New Jersey), Tim Walberg (R-Michigan), Rich McCormick (R-Georgia), Ritchie Torres (D-New York), Troy Nehls (R-Texas), Dan Meuser (R-Pennsylvania), Jonathan Jackson (D-Illinois), George Whitesides (D-California), Val Hoyle (D-Oregon), Austin Scott (R-Georgia), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Florida), Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington), Kelly Morrison (D-Minnesota), Christian Menefee (D-Texas), Daniel Webster (R-Florida), Ed Case (D-Hawaii), Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), Laurel Lee (R-Florida) and Scott Franklin (R-Florida). Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Oklahoma) was also late, although his office denies it.

Senators who’ve violated the STOCK Act during the past year include Sens. Alan Armstrong (R-Oklahoma), Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), Katie Britt (R-Alabama), Susan Collins (R-Maine), John Hickenlooper (D-Colorado), Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota) and John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania).
]]> https://www.washingtonsun.com/2026-election/pritzker-midterms-money-new-pac-illinois-miller-herrera Jenna Monnin Pritzker, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, plans to target Ohio’s Rep. Max Miller and Texas’ Brandon Herrera with ad buys. Tue, 08 Sep 2026 16:02:21 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/2026-election/pritzker-midterms-money-new-pac-illinois-miller-herrera Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker launched a new political action committee over the weekend that plans to funnel millions of dollars into Democratic House races ahead of the midterms.

Pritzker’s Ready for the Fight PAC — a phrase often used by the governor and repeated liberally in the committee’s first ad spot — plans to invest at least $20 million in what it considers to be overlooked and competitive races, according to Politico, which reported first on the spending push.

The committee will soon target what it deems “the worst of the worst MAGA Republicans,” with ad reservations against Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), who’s facing allegations of domestic abuse, and Texas’ Brandon Herrera, an incendiary internet personality who specializes in firearms and calls himself the “AK Guy.”

Both Ohio’s 7th Congressional District and Texas’ 23rd Congressional District lean red, but Pritzker sees them as potential wins for Democrats — with Trump’s approval rating dropping to record lows and midterm elections historically fairing well for the party that doesn't control the White House.

“As the affordability crisis continues, Democrats must think big and take the fight to every corner to support candidates in often-overlooked races,” a press release on the PAC reads. “With everything we care about on the line, Democrats cannot retreat to a handful of battleground races.”

The governor is seen as a potential 2028 presidential contender for Democrats and often stands in strong opposition to President Donald Trump and his policies.

This week, Pritzker will be in Dallas with other Democrats to counter the inaugural GOP midterm convention, according to CNN.

In August 2025, Pritzker hosted a group of Texas lawmakers who fled the state to oppose a Trump-backed redistricting effort. Pritzker has also fought back against Trump’s tariffs that affect the Illinois soybean industry and has lambasted the president’s immigration policies.

Pritzker is running for his third term as Illinois governor, and this PAC will bring his fight against Trump’s agenda to the national stage ahead of the midterms — and a potential presidential run.

“Since launching his campaign in 2017, Gov. Pritzker has closed his speeches with the same question: are you ready for the fight? As Gov. Pritzker has proven in Illinois, Democrats can aggressively fight Trump’s dangerous agenda and deliver real results for working families,” the press release reads.]]> https://www.washingtonsun.com/money/self-funders-congressional-campaign-failing-to-win Mark Alfred Ultrarich politicians — in most cases — can’t buy a seat in Congress. Tue, 08 Sep 2026 09:03:00 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/money/self-funders-congressional-campaign-failing-to-win It’s still exceedingly difficult to buy oneself a seat in Congress.

During the 2026 midterms, a record number of wealthy Americans — 69 — have spent more than $1 million of their own money to support their campaigns for federal office.

And with primary season ending in the next several days with contests in New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Delaware, about two-thirds of these self-funding candidates have turned out to be losers who couldn’t advance to the November general election.
https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/ub0ox/4/Those who bet big on themselves to win their races for Congress collectively loaned their campaigns $160 million.

At the extreme, former Rep. David Trone burned through about $25 million of his own cash only to lose in his Maryland 6th Congressional District primary by 7 percentage points to fellow Democratic Rep. April McClain Delaney.
David.Trone.1 (5515x3677, AR: 1.50)In Arizona, businessman Daniel Keenan spent $1.6 million on his failed bid to replace Republican Rep. Andy Biggs.

Keenan says the run was well worth it even if he lost the Republican primary to former county sheriff Mark Lamb in July.

“I did it to contribute to my country, to do the best I can to make my country better off for my kids,” he said. “It was never for personal gain or ego or anything like that.”

Keenan also expects to one day run again: “I worked my butt off … went from polling at 1% to capturing nearly 42% of the vote. I think we ran a really good campaign and set myself up well for future runs.”

Still, Keenan said he was surprised by “the amount of prominent Republicans who privately reached out to me and supported me” but wouldn’t do so publicly.

“I was the most Trump-aligned candidate and again defending all those policies at every chance I could, and it was difficult not getting the support from the White House,” he said.

On the other end of that spectrum is Thomas Chalifoux, a retired Army colonel and businessman who sought the Republican nomination in Florida’s 9th Congressional District.

Chalifoux placed third in the Republican primary, having spent upward of $2 million on his ultimately failed campaign. It was a worse showing than his 2024 bid for the same seat, which saw him secure the GOP nomination but lose in the general election to Democratic Rep. Darren Soto.

That race also cost him upward of $2 million — a fraction of his net worth, which sits at around $270 million, per his most recent federal financial disclosure. Still, he is quick to point out: “I started with nothing, just like Elon Musk.”

Chalifoux previously taught military strategy at the Army Command and General Staff College and, more than anything, seemed disappointed he would not have the chance to go against the “bunch of rubber stamps in Congress” who have supported President Donald Trump’s war with Iran.

“The Iran ‘Epic Fury’ is just poorly, poorly planned. We've got a mess on our hands, and it makes American military power look much worse,” Chalifoux said. Trump “created a climate where no one wants to disagree because he's very vindictive.”Might he try a third time come 2028?

“I don't know. I'm 78 … people look at that as being too old. I'm not too old,” he said, noting he is a “world-class bodybuilder” whose mother “is over 100, so I've got that longevity in my family.”

Earlier this year, Keith Gross and John Fleming, candidates for Florida’s 2nd Congressional District and U.S. Senate in Louisiana, respectively, each spent around $12 million on their failed primary campaigns.
John.Fleming (7023x4682, AR: 1.50)Democrat Peter Chatzky entered, then exited, the race for New York's 17th Congressional District after the resurfacing of lewd social media posts in March. He ultimately recouped $10.7 million of the $11.3 million he had loaned his campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records.

The number of self-funders who ultimately lost their elections is expected to grow in November.

Don Tracy and Barb Regnitz, the Republican nominees for U.S. Senate in Illinois and Indiana’s 1st Congressional District, respectively, each put in upward of $2 million into their campaigns so far. But both are vying for “solid” or “likely” Democratic seats and are expected to lose.]]> https://www.washingtonsun.com/money/lev-parnas-congress-money-payments-fec-florida Taylor Giorno Parnas’ campaign told regulators it paid the Florida companies for “PR services” and “strategy consulting.” Thu, 03 Sep 2026 19:33:11 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/money/lev-parnas-congress-money-payments-fec-florida Lev Parnas’ Florida congressional campaign paid a cleaning company and makeup artist thousands of dollars for services they don’t appear to provide — raising questions about whether funds were used for personal expenses.

The campaign of Parnas — a former Rudy Giuliani ally sentenced to prison earlier this decade in part for campaign finance crimes — disclosed paying $18,500 in April to Hands at Work LLC for “PR Services,” according to FEC records.

Hands at Work LLC is a cleaning company, according to a man who identified himself as the son of Marelbi Franco, who is listed as the company manager on Florida business records, when contacted by NOTUS. Franco’s son ended the call after NOTUS asked what PR services the Parnas campaign had paid the cleaning company to handle.

The Parnas campaign’s address is a mailbox at a UPS store in Miami, and the campaign has not disclosed in its FEC reports ever paying for physical campaign office space.

The Parnas campaign also paid $3,000 in May to Le Tropique Inc. for “strategy consulting,” according to its latest FEC report. Le Tropique Inc. is a Florida-based makeup studio owned by Terry Jacobs, who did not respond to an email or phone call requesting comment.

Most of the $30,000 Parnas’ campaign committee has raised through June went to services from Hands at Work LLC and Le Tropique Inc., according to FEC records.

Federal campaign finance law prohibits the use of campaign funds for personal expenses.

Hands at Work "does diverse work," the unnamed Parnas spokesperson wrote in an email to NOTUS following publication of this article.

"In this situation it paid subcontractors who handled only campaign-related tasks such as communication strategies and community engagement strategy," the spokesperson wrote.

And in addition to being "a well known makeup artist," according to the spokesperson, Jacobs "also provides outreach consulting, including helping organize door‑knocking in senior centers (she is a senior citizen herself) centers and entities which she contacted for the campaign."

Parnas campaign treasurer Andrew Madras did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Prior to publication, NOTUS tried several phone numbers for Parnas and eventually reached a person who identified themself as one of Parnas’ representatives. The person, who did not offer their name, declined to provide Parnas’ contact information but said they would pass on NOTUS’ inquiry.

On Tuesday, Parnas told his 82,000 Substack subscribers that his “campaign is real” and warned there was “a coordinated effort to disrupt our community by spreading lies and misinformation about me and my campaign.”

“As I have been warning you, organized disinformation campaigns are being carried out by paid actors whose goal is to discredit, divide, and disrupt our community,” Parnas wrote. “That is why facts matter. That is why transparency matters. And that is why I will always show you the receipts.”

A key figure in President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, Parnas has rebranded himself as an anti-Trump crusader and built a sizable social media following — although his online presence pales in comparison to that of his son, Aaron Parnas, a prominent Democratic influencer and news aggregator who has more than 5 million TikTok followers.

The elder Parnas’ entry in electoral politics this year had proven decidedly turbulent.

Parnas initially filed to run as a Democrat in Florida’s 27th Congressional District, currently held by Republican Rep. María Elvira Salazar. He then amended his federal election paperwork in June to run as an independent in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, which leans Republican, according to the nonpartisan election handicappers at the Cook Political Report.

“I helped build MAGA, and now I promise you I will do everything in my power to dismantle the corruption surrounding it piece by piece, truth by truth, until democracy wins,” Parnas said in a video on his Subtack announcing his campaign.

At present, Parnas’ name does not appear on the Florida Division of Elections’ list of congressional candidates, as independent journalist Troy Barile first noted on Medium.

After publication, Gretl Plessinger, communications director at the Florida Department of State, told NOTUS that the website list was up to date and the "qualifying dates for Florida congressional candidates have passed."

Parnas’ campaign has not spent any money on traditional political advertising, according to the ad tracking platform AdImpact. Parnas personally posts frequently on his YouTube page, including a recent interview with Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden.

Parnas burst into the national spotlight during Trump’s first impeachment trial, where Trump faced charges of abuse of power and obstruction of justice. Parnas, who was born in Ukraine, alleged Giuliani sent him to urge the Ukrainian government to open an investigation into the Bidens ahead of the 2020 presidential election — and that Trump “knew exactly what was going on,” an allegation Trump has denied.

In 2021, a jury convicted Parnas of campaign finance crimes, among others, for conspiring to funnel money from a Russian oligarch into U.S. elections. He was sentenced in 2022 to 20 months in prison and was released in September 2023, according to the Bureau of Prisons’ inmate database.

Parnas and Hunter Biden reconciled after his release. During his interview with the younger Biden, which was released last week on Kick, Parnas again apologized to the entire Biden family.

“What we’re seeing play out in Trump 2.0 is the sicker we could get, the more crazier we could do it, the more sycophantic we could become,” Parnas said, adding, “It’s just incredible to watch, man.”

This article has been updated to include a comment from the Parnas campaign and Florida Department of State.]]>