Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat who visited the first Democratic presidential primary state of South Carolina last Friday, is in hot water after a deep look into his campaign spending.

A new report from Politico details how Gallego spent thousands in political donor dollars on paying for travel and luxury events from his campaign accounts, covering not only his own expenses but also those of his family. 

Since kicking off his bid for the US Senate in 2023, Gallego's leadership PAC has paid for trips involving his family to destinations including Florida, Illinois, and Disney properties in California and Florida. 

His political accounts have also reimbursed him more than $18,000 for child-care costs dating back to 2019, Federal Election Commission records show.

One eyebrow-raising payment of $400 went to his wife's mother for babysitting services.

Former First Lady Jill Biden's longtime spokesman Michael LaRosa noted on X that he was one past Gallego donor who asked for his money back.

'Needless to say, I'm thrilled that I requested — and received — a refund of my own contribution to him just last week. Democrats and donors should read this buyer-beware reporting,' LaRosa wrote.

Filings also show Gallego and his wife attended the 2023 Super Bowl in Arizona using a shared political account he maintained with former California Representative Eric Swalwell.

X user Essem Harris noted, 'basically, the country’s highest-paid CEO paid for Gallego and Swalwell to attend the Super Bowl in luxury while they raided their own campaign accounts. Absolutely disgraceful.'

A 'Progressive Dem' political commentator who posts on X using the handle, @electionsjoe, also chimed in, adding that 'Ruben Gallego should repay every single cent and refund his donors. Along with paying multiple fines,' also noting 'this behavior is unacceptable.'

Campaign finance regulations permit candidates and officeholders to spend political money on expenses such as travel, meals, events, and child care when those costs are connected to campaign or official activity. 

The restrictions are looser for leadership PACs, which can spend money on a wider range of fundraising-related activities.

A person familiar with the matter noted that the senator's wife, children, mother-in-law, and au pair have often traveled alongside him for events supported by donors.

Gallego said the expenses were permitted and pointed to the financial strain of child care on working families. He said elected officials from both parties frequently travel with their spouses and children and use campaign funds for child care when federal rules allow it.

'This is not breaking news,' Gallego told Politico. 'With the rising costs of child care and the burden it has on the budgets of American families, Democrats and Republicans in Congress and the White House alike regularly travel with their wives and children, as is permitted by the FEC,' he added. 

One account from which the luxury expenses were made was a former joint fundraising committee, the 'Swallego Victory Fund', which was shared by Gallego and his former close friend, California congressman and one-time gubernatorial front-runner Eric Swalwell.

Swalwell dropped out of the California gubernatorial race after a sexual assault allegation from a former staffer forced him to quit.

Swalwell has been accused of sexual misconduct by at least five women, including a former staffer who alleged that Swalwell, who is married, raped her twice when she was too intoxicated to consent, in 2019 and 2024. She is one of four women who have made allegations against the Democrat.

Swalwell announced he was suspending his campaign after the accusations came to light, saying he was 'deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I've made in my past,' while disputing what he called 'false allegations' against him.

The PAC was disbanded earlier in the 2025-2026 electoral cycle, per FEC records, after having raised and spent just over $55,000 in the 2023-2024 cycle.