RICHMOND — (CNN/WMAL) Virginia gubernatorial candidate Corey Stewart spent $1200 of money raised by his campaign to purchase tickets to a black-tie ball held for President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Campaign finance reports filed with the Virginia Department of Elections show that Stewart made two separate payments of $600 to the Texas State Society of Washington, DC for “event tickets.” The group hosted the Black Tie and Boots Inaugural Ball in January.
Tickets for the event retailed at $300 for non-members of the organization and $275 for members. The inaugural ball, held in National Harbor, Maryland, featured performances from the Beach Boys and was attended by politicians and celebrities. Photos posted on Facebook by Stewart show him with his wife and friends with the caption, “On our way to the Texas Black Tie and Boots Inaugural Ball!”
The purchase raises ethics questions about the use of campaign funds for personal expenditures. Under Virginia law, candidates are permitted to use campaign money for personal use, though an effort last year by some Virginia lawmakers to bar the practice stalled in the legislature.
Sen. Chap Petersen (D- Fairfax), one of the leading ethics reform advocates in the General Assembly, told WMAL he actually has no problem with Stewart going to the ball on his supporters’ dime.
“If it gives him an opportunity to run into a potential large donor, or it gives him a chance to stand in front of a large number of Virginia voters and get their vote, then sure, it’s as legitimate as anything else,” said Petersen.
Stewart served as Virginia state chairman for Trump’s campaign until he was fired for organizing a protest at the Republican National Committee. He is facing off in the Virginia governor’s Republican primary against Ed Gillespie, a former RNC chairman and George W. Bush administration official.
Noel Fritsch, a spokesman for Stewart, defended the purchase by slamming Gillespie’s record.
“Corey Stewart, who was Donald Trump’s Campaign Chairman in Virginia, and who, unlike Lobbyist Ed Gillespie, isn’t off hobnobbing with insider lobbyists at $10,000-a-plate dinners in an attempt to buy the governor’s mansion, purchased a few tickets to a Trump inaugural ball,” Fritsch said.
He added the tickets were “to celebrate with his wife and a few of President Trump’s top campaign volunteers.”
Stewart can spend the money as we wishes, but he may want to watch his pennies. According to campaign finance records, Gillespie is out-raising Stewart by a nearly 4-to-1 margin.
The-CNN-Wire ™ & © 2017 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved. (PHOTO: Corey Stewart for Governor)
