“You have to go where the money is to raise money.” That is how Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., answered Fox News Digital when asked about campaign-funded trips to the Super Bowl and Miami.
Recent reporting, including by Politico, detailed travel, childcare and event costs paid through his political committees. According to financial filings, his leadership PAC covered trips to Miami, Saint Barthélemy, Disneyland, Disney World and Chicago. A source familiar with his spending told Politico he often used campaign cash to bring his family along and paid for babysitting with donor money.
The Super Bowl
Federal Election Commission records show a joint fundraising committee Gallego ran with former Rep. Eric Swalwell paid for tickets for him and his wife to the 2023 game. Swalwell resigned from Congress recently after several women accused the California Democrat of sexual assault.
Gallego calls the outing a fundraiser, the “Swallego Victory Fund.” “The Super Bowl was in Arizona, I represent Arizona,” he said. “We threw a Super Bowl fundraiser in Arizona where we raised money for my election in 2023. That’s what you do.”
The event was held with donors at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, 20 days after Gallego launched his Senate bid. An invitation obtained by Politico priced tickets at $5,000, with a pregame brunch for another $1,000. It cost more than $37,000. Each lawmaker received roughly $8,000, and the joint committee stopped operating after the game.
A Gallego spokesperson told Politico the “tickets were purchased at fair market value” and that “hosting donors and supporters at sporting events in their areas is a common, bipartisan practice.” Gallego made the same point himself: “There’s a lot of people that do fundraisers at golf tournaments, at NASCAR, at IndyCar.”
Miami
The Miami trip fell on his wife Sydney Gallego’s birthday. The couple stayed at the Loews hotel on Miami Beach, and expenses topped $9,000. Gallego said the trip paid off: “We raised about $50,000 in our nine events in Miami.”
His spokesperson told Politico the Gallegos “attended several widely attended political events and fundraisers” there. The spokesperson gave no figures and did not address the birthday.
What the rules say
Federal campaign funds generally cannot be converted to personal use. FEC guidance does allow campaign-related travel, meals at fundraising events and childcare costs that come directly from campaign activity. Trips that mix personal and campaign purposes can require reimbursement for the personal portion.
Fox News Digital has not cited any FEC finding that the expenses broke campaign finance law.
