Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), who has a long history of using campaign funds for personal indulgences, spent $22,000 in campaign donations on this year’s Super Bowl tickets, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Swalwell, a notable San Francisco 49ers fan, attended the Super Bowl on Feb. 11 at the Las Vegas stadium, sparking questions about how the California Democrat was able to pay for the pricey tickets with a debt-ridden past, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
Swalwell’s campaign spent about $22,000 on tickets to the big game on Feb. 6, labeling the San Francisco 49ers game as a fundraising expense, according to his committee’s pre-primary filing to the FEC, which was obtained by Fox News.
The filings show that Swalwell also used additional funds on top of the ticket purchases, spending more than $100 at Allegiant Stadium, where the 49ers played the Kansas City Chiefs, and almost $3,000 at a restaurant called Alexxa’s Las Vegas, according to the filings. The financial report also shows a $30,900 expenditure labeled “Event Tickets for Fundraising Event” that appears to have been spent at the Las Vegas Raiders stadium.
Swalwell appeared to do some campaigning at the Super Bowl, meeting with members of the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association, according to the group’s website.
This is not the first time Swalwell has used campaign funds to splurge on personal luxuries. He recently spent $1,560 in December at Aramark at the Lincoln Financial Field, where the Philadelphia Eagles played against the 49ers, and at the end of last year, he spent $90,000 in travel expenses, of which $1,700 was spent as a five-star hotel in Dubai, Fox News reported.
Last year, Swalwell used campaign money to spend about $17,000 on child care after the 2022 election cycle ended, which is past when candidates are able to use campaign funds to pay for child care.
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“The Act and Commission regulations define ‘personal use’ as the use of campaign funds ‘to fulfill any commitment, obligation, or expense of a person that would exist irrespective of the candidate’s election campaign’ or duties as a federal officeholder,” the FEC wrote in 2022 in response to the use of Swalwell’s campaign fund.
