Virginia gov candidate spent $1,200 on tickets to inaugural ball

Virginia GOP gubernatorial candidate Corey Stewart spent $1,200 in campaign funds to purchase tickets to an inaugural ball for President Trump in January, according to campaign finance disclosures filed with the Virginia Department of Elections.

The disclosure shows two separate payments of $600 each to the Texas State Society of Washington, D.C., which hosted the “Black Tie and Boots” ball on Jan. 19. The charges are shown on the filing as being for a “political event” and were made about a month apart — the first on Nov. 27 and the second on Dec. 23.

The charges were first reported by CNN.

{mosads}Tickets for the event began at $300 for non-members and $275 for members, according to the San Antonio Express-News. The event featured a performance by the Beach Boys.

Virginia state law does not bar candidates from using campaign funds for personal expenses.

Stewart served as Trump’s campaign chairman in Virginia last year before being fired in October for staging a protest outside the headquarters of the Republican National Committee (RNC).

The demonstration opposed what Stewart and other Trump supporters saw as the RNC betraying Trump after recordings surfaced of Trump boasting about groping and kissing women without their consent.

Stewart is currently running against former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie in the state’s GOP gubernatorial primary. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, is not eligible to run for reelection because of term limits.