Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado raked in an eye-popping total of more than $22,000 in gas-mileage reimbursements from her campaign for Congress in 2020.
The rather large sum, which can be seen in campaign-finance data on the website OpenSecrets, was first reported by The Denver Post and the local blog Colorado Pols.
While Boebert amassed a total of $2,989,510 in her campaign for office, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, the gas-reimbursement figure is remarkably high given the travel habits of her predecessor on the campaign trail and her relative lack of events during the pandemic.
Boebert’s gas reimbursement dwarfs the amount Rep. Scott Tipton spent on travel while campaigning in the same district for a decade. Before Boebert defeated Tipton in last year’s GOP primary for the seat, he claimed a total of $9,797 for travel over 10 years, including airfare, according to The Denver Post.
Candidates for federal office are allowed to legally reimburse themselves for miles driven in their personal vehicles using the Internal Revenue Service’s mileage rate. In 2020, the rate was 57.5 cents per mile.
Boebert’s $22,000 in gas money would mean she drove almost 39,000 miles while hitting the stump in the middle of a pandemic that left many public venues shut down.
That’s enough gas to cover 14 trips between the Seattle Space Needle and Capitol Hill, or about 1.5 trips around the circumference of Earth.
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I guess it takes a lot of gas to drive democracy into the ground. https://t.co/I73ufJYC6p
— Maya May (@mayaonstage) February 5, 2021
Weird how these "populists" keep turning out to be financially corrupt. Almost as if—no, it can't be—they're just seeking excuses to break rules for personal benefit, not actually altruists who nobly endure criticism as part of their struggle on behalf of downtrodden Americans. https://t.co/iHjeiAYK0L
— Nicholas Grossman (@NGrossman81) February 6, 2021Boebert’s campaign finances came under scrutiny when The Denver Post reported on reimbursements she made to herself. Her campaign finance disclosures to the FEC indicate she claimed “mileage” reimbursements of $1,059.62, reported on March 31, and $21,199.52, reported on Nov. 11.
— Mark Elliott (@markmobility) February 6, 2021
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