Trucker hats and ice cream: the most surprising ways candidates spend money

The way political candidates spend their money can say a lot about them: their instincts, their attention to detail, their concern for money or lack thereof.

So last week's final reports with the Federal Election Commission served as an MRI of sorts. They showed how some campaigns thrived while others suffered from slowing flows of donor oxygen, uncontrolled spending bleeding, and old-fashioned bloat. In some cases, the reports looked more like an autopsy. (Tim Scott as president spent $16.8 million on media and advertising, and he was gone before a single vote was cast.)

Then there were the stranger items.

For example, the $655,000 that Miami Mayor Francis Or the $218,500 that one of former President Donald J. Trump's political committees paid Hervé Pierre Braillard — a stylist who worked with Melania Trump — for “strategy advice.”

Here are more examples of surprising or strange campaign spending.

Trucker hats and “collateral” items

You could be forgiven for missing it, but Ryan Binkley, a pastor and businessman from Texas, continues to run for the Republican presidential nomination.

And he somehow spent $772,000 on hats.

Unfortunately, his file contains few details, but according to… this picture from The New Hampshire Union Leader, at least one of the hats is a trucker design with the letters “WTF” – “Way to Freedom.” The total hat cost was part of a $5 million outlay to Victory Enterprises, an Iowa political consulting group.

“To date, the Binkley campaign has raised more than 50,000 hats,” said Heath Flock, director of Mr. Binkley's campaign. “Yes, this is a lot of hats.”

Mr Flock added: “We used Binkley brand hats as a giveaway at all our campaign events and as an incentive for contributions. While other presidential campaigns solicited donations by offering free gas cards or college tuition assistance, we simply offered our hats as a thank you to the people who donated to our campaign.”

Mr. Binkley wasn't the only candidate whose operation spent a lot of money on merchandise. The super PAC backing Ron DeSantis, Never Back Down, paid a vendor $43,000 to “research uniforms for field operations” while deploying door knockers in early candidate states.

Representatives for Never Back Down did not respond to requests for comment.

The super PAC also paid $13,858 for “collateral materials” – jackets, pins, flags – from ACE Specialties, a Louisiana company.

Curiously, the company also bills itself as the “Official Merchandiser” for Trump's campaign. The former president's joint fundraising committee paid ACE nearly $79,000 for items such as “collateral: flags and hats” and “collateral: clothing, hats, stickers and freight.”

Hair and beauty

If you're running for president and not wearing a signature hat, you must have good hair.

Clearly, politicians need to pay attention to their presentation and polish – but voters tend to raise their eyebrows at big spending on personal care and clothing. Remember John Edwards' $400 haircuts? Or Sarah Palin's $150,000 wardrobe, courtesy of the Republican National Committee?

Never Back Down, DeSantis' super PAC, made two payments last year totaling $6,675.93 to Haus of Beauty, a Tallahassee beauty salon, for “Staff Services/Equipment.”

A representative for Never Back Down declined to comment. The beauty salon did not respond to a request for comment.

Ice cream

Ice cream stops are such a political cliché that “Veep” built an entire episode around a visit to a frozen yogurt shop. According to a New York Times analysis, candidates and political committees have spent more than $10,000 on ice events so far this cycle.

A few favorite spots stand out, including Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, a chain that started in Ohio, and Ice Cream Jubilee in Washington, D.C.

Most costs are several hundred dollars. One exception is Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, whose campaign reported a $17.52 expenditure at a Jeni's location in Virginia in November.

Curiously, the chief ice cream eater – President Biden – has not outlined any clear spending on ice cream so far this year. On Monday, he ordered a pink boba tea during a campaign stop in Nevada.

Michael C. Bender And Nicholas Nehamas reporting contributed.