Free Republic

That’s rich. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s re-election campaign has spent big bucks on posh hotels — shelling out nearly $50,000 on upscale stays in the past seven months — as the democratic socialist darling rallies against the wealthy, The Post has learned. The New York Democrat’s campaign forked over $47,000 on 45 hotel charges across the country since April, including a $5,044 bill at The Memphian — a bougie boutique hotel in Memphis, with spa services and an extravagant, animal-themed rooftop bar, filings show. The campaign also racked up bills for $1,599 and $2,694 bill at the 4-star The Candler Hotel...

Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico is facing lingering frustration from inside his own political backyard over the cancellation of an event that was supposed to take place on Oct. 5 with a Black civic-service group. The Central Texas African American Civic Engagement Symposium (CT-AACES) expressed deep frustration in an email, sent to the Talarico campaign and obtained by Fox News Digital, after the campaign cancelled an event – which had 325 confirmed registrants – during Talarico's two-week absence from the campaign trail due to illness. CT-AACES said the cancellation left them with "irrecoverable financial loss," and that Talarico's campaign...

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has carefully curated a family narrative for the campaign trail that erases his terror group-linked birth mother for his white stepmom — even though he remains close to his “ummi,” The Post can reveal. Biological mom Fatten Elkomy, 66, a psychiatric nurse at New Horizons Community Support Services in Columbia, MO, was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and previously worked for the Islamic American Relief Agency — a designated terrorist organization — according to 2010 federal court documents naming her. While in Egypt in the 1970s, she was an activist with the Muslim Brotherhood —...

A Democratic Governors Association-backed Super PAC is pouring more than $4 million into boosting Gov. Kathy Hochul’s re-election bid as she desperately tries to fend off Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman in the tight race. Greater Empire State — which began releasing anti-Blakeman attack ads Saturday — reported receiving $4.34 million in donations between late July and Oct. 2 to hype Hochul, according to its latest state campaign filings. A big chunk of the money came from former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg; the Greater New York Hospital Association Management Corp.; and Leadership for New York, a super PAC run by Jay...

Dems the breaks. Rep. Tom Suozzi will snub a Long Island campaign event with Gov. Kathy Hochul on Saturday because of a scheduling clash — as other down-ballot New York Democrats distance themselves from the unpopular Empire State leader. Suozzi’s campaign told The Post that the five-term Long Island congressman was “fully booked,” and couldn’t make the “Nassau County Young Democrats’ Bus Tour and Canvass Launch.” “Congressman Suozzi’s schedule is set weeks in advance and he is fully booked all weekend,” a spokesperson for the Nassau County pol said Friday. The cold-shoulder comes after two other Democratic candidates in high-profile...

President Trump will join Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman to campaign in upstate New York next week, The Post has learned. The commander-in-chief will appear with the Nassau County executive in Syracuse for an event on Oct. 9, according to a source briefed on the visit. Another source said that Trump was considering making additional upstate campaign stops later this month. Blakeman’s camp has been trying in recent days to get Trump to join him on the campaign trail in areas of the state where incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul appears vulnerable. A recent Siena College poll had Blakeman trailing his...

She’s back on the campaign trail – and some Democrats wish she’d go back to Brentwood. Former Vice President Kamala Harris hasn’t yet ditched her reputation for clumsy answers while stumping for controversial US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan this week to try to help shore up vulnerabilities with black voters. More Harris rallies are planned for Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) in Georgia and Nevada gubernatorial Aaron Ford, who is the state AG — but some Democrats are already saying no thanks. Adam Hamilton, the megachurch pastor who is the Democrats’ Senate candidate in Kansas, flat-out rejected the idea...

When Oklahoma inmate Steve Wilbanks spoke to a reporter by phone in late July, it had been six weeks since he worked in a prison call center, placing calls on behalf of insurance companies attempting to poach business from competitors and making political calls as primary elections were underway across the country. “I had good numbers,” Wilbanks, who is incarcerated at the James Crabtree Correctional Center in Helena, said. “I was a producer.” Wilbanks was one of four inmates who spoke with reporters about the call center work. Contracts obtained via an open records request confirm that a company called...

Former Vice President Kamala Harris is popping up across the US to stump for candidates in battleground states — but many see her support as more of a curse than a gift. As Harris looks to strengthen her national profile ahead of a potential 2028 run for the White House, candidates in competitive races from Alaska to Wisconsin have signaled they don’t need or want the California Democrat campaigning for them, Politico reported. In Kansas, Democratic Senate nominee Adam Hamilton said it doesn’t make sense for someone with a Golden State of mind to hit America’s heartland. “Having somebody from...

With under nine weeks to go until early voting begins in Texas’ U.S. Senate race, both Ken Paxton and James Talarico have been campaigning around the state, meeting voters everywhere from restaurants to music halls as they’ve pitched their political visions. But on television, Texans have only seen one of them. Talarico, an Austin state representative, has spent over $25 million on advertising since the general election began in late May, according to ad tracking firm AdImpact — with nearly $10.7 million deployed on broadcast and an additional $8.4 million on streaming devices. (The rest has gone to a combination...

Three years can be a long time in Texas politics. Republicans who once stood on opposite sides of one of the party’s most bitter battles are now sharing stages, exchanging embraces, and urging voters to unite behind Attorney General Ken Paxton in November. The display has unfolded during Paxton’s campaign tour this week, where several lawmakers with a history of conflict with the Republican senate nominee have appeared alongside him and encouraged voters to put past disagreements aside. The most prominent example came in Allen, where State Rep. Jeff Leach introduced Paxton before a packed crowd and embraced him as...

An upstate House candidate pontificated about the Epstein files and a would-be politician’s assault scandal – despite hitting the campaign trail alongside his registered sex offender brother-in-law, The Post has learned. Democrat Aaron Gies, who’s looking to unseat two-term Republican Rep. Nick Langworthy, was assisted by his brother-in-law Christopher Nathan White, a former North Carolina teacher convicted on rape and sex offense charges involving two teen students – who allegedly shot video at a winter “Polar Plunge” event. “He was there,” Gies told The Post Sunday of the campaign plunge event that unfolded Dec. 26, 2025. “Chris is not part...

The Justice Department has launched an investigation into Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) related to luxury outings and family trips paid for with campaign donations, The Post confirmed. The DOJ probe into possible campaign finance violations by the potential 2028 Democratic presidential, first reported by Axios, stems from a whistleblower complaint out of Southern California. News of the investigation surfaced just hours after the Senate Ethics Committee rejected a complaint filed against the Arizona Democrat accusing him of campaign finance violations and sexual misconduct. “[President] Trump is targeting Senator Gallego while the most weaponized Department of Justice in history is turning...

Lefty tech millionaire Saikat Chakrabarti spent $10 million of his own cash to succeed fill Nancy Pelosi’s shoes in Congress for San Francisco, only to majorly flop and miss out on a spot in the general election. As of Wednesday morning, the former aide to socialist Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez received just 15% of the vote count with half of the total votes in. That’s far behind Democrats state Sen. Scott Wiener, who is the oft-leather-clad frontrunner at 41%, and Pelosi-endorsed San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan at around 29%. Wiener and Chan will advance to face off in November, the Associated...

The reclusive and disgraced Eric Swalwell has paid a law firm more than $313,000 so far to fend off his sexual misconduct claims, according to a recent campaign finance disclosure. In his most recent disclosure spanning from April 19 to May 16, Swalwell’s campaign paid Sara Azari’s New York law firm in two separate payments of $250,000 and $23,251, totaling $273,251, for “campaign legal compliance.” The payments came after he had already given her $40,000 to defend him publicly. Swalwell, who dropped out of the gubernatorial race and resigned his seat in Congress due to the claims, has been quiet...

Texas state Rep. James Talarico drew republican backlash after a photo surfaced showing him eating meat, reigniting scrutiny of his past “nonmeat” campaign tied to climate-change activism. The article notes a 2022 video in which Talarico explained his vegan stance and that his campaign had become nonmeat, with his spokesman countering the narrative in a tongue-in-cheek response. Despite the controversy, Talarico advanced to the general election in the Texas Senate race, set to face John Cornyn or Ken Paxton after defeating Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary. GOP figures including Cornyn, Cruz, Roy, and Gill mocked his meat-free past, and...

The groups admitted to 16 violations and agreed to pay a record $300,000 fine, the largest in Georgia history The Georgia Senate is ramping up its investigation into alleged campaign finance violations tied to Stacey Abrams’ voter outreach group, with a top lawmaker vowing to "follow the facts wherever they lead" as subpoenas have been issued to Abrams and other key figures. The Senate Special Committee on Investigations announced Monday that Abrams, along with New Georgia Project leaders Lauren Groh-Wargo and Nsé Ufot, must appear before lawmakers at the State Capitol at 10 a.m. on Friday. "This committee has a...

Grammy-winning rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel of the Fugees has reported to federal prison to begin a 14-year sentence following a conviction over illegally funneling millions of dollars in foreign contributions to former President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign. Michel reported to prison Thursday, a spokesperson said, with federal records listing him as an inmate at a low-security correctional institution in Arizona. “Today is a painful day for Pras, for his family, and for everyone who believes in a fair system of justice. Pras honors the legal process as he reports to begin his sentence,” said Erica Dumas, a spokesperson for...

Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell’s bid for California governor continues to be plagued by an exodus of staffers and supporters, following a series of sexual misconduct allegations against the congressman. Since the allegations first emerged this week, multiple campaign aides have resigned and nearly every endorsement has been rescinded, with several leading Democratic figures calling for him to drop out of the race. Swalwell has called the allegations against him “flat false,” and alleged that these were timed to disrupt his campaign. Newsweek contacted the campaign via email outside of regular working hours for comment. Why It Matters Before the allegations...

Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell has been accused of violating immigration and employment law to keep his illegal live-in Brazilian nanny in the country, according to a pair of recently filed complaints. When his South American babysitter’s temporary work authorization was about to expire in 2022, he and wife Brittany Swalwell lied to the feds to keep Amanda Barbosa working for them, a new complaint filed Tuesday with the Department of Labor claimed. Another complaint, filed to the Department of Homeland security in February and previously unreported, accuses Swalwell of paying the nanny under the table with campaign funds for a...