FEC votes to extend campaign salaries to recent caregivers, unemployed candidates

The Federal Election Commission on Thursday voted 5-1 to approve new rules allowing more candidates to pay themselves a salary while running for office, including recent caregivers and workers suffering from an unexpected job loss. In 2021, Nabilah Islam Parkes — a former federal candidate and now Democratic state senator in Georgia — filed a petition urging the commission to revise its regulations on campaign salaries, arguing that the restrictions favored the wealthy and left many working-class candidates “out in the cold.” Changes to the existing regulations could lower financial barriers to running for office, especially for women and people of color, who remain underrepresented on Capitol Hill. “We need to remove these barriers that prevent the average American from being able to run for office in the first place,” Islam Parkes told OpenSecrets, adding that Congress does not accurately reflect the U.S. “We need folks in Congress that share the lived experiences of everyday Americans, working-class Americans.” The new rules will permit non-incumbent candidates to receive a day rate equal to 50% of the minimum annual salary of a U.S. House Representative — which currently sits at $174,000 — or the candidate’s average annual income over the previous five years, whichever is lowest. Islam Parkes, who lost health insurance coverage when running for Congress in 2021, also urged the FEC to allow candidates to use campaign funds to cover medical premiums and caregiving expenses, arguing that these benefits are inextricably linked to employment and could prevent some candidates from running for office.