New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham did not violate state campaign-finance laws by paying her daughter $6,000 for hair and makeup services, a top state official ruled this week.
The Democratic governor – who has come under fire in the past for her office’s spending on items such as alcohol and dry cleaning, as well as a $62,500 settlement in a sexual harassment case – had listed the hair and makeup expenses in campaign finance reports as “media preparation” services, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper.
The hair and makeup money has been paid to Erin Grisham, the governor’s daughter, since 2017, the newspaper reported. The daughter is described as a “hair and makeup specialist.”
In a letter dated Tuesday, state Election Director Mandy Vigil described the governor’s hair and makeup expenses as “reasonably attributable to the candidate’s campaign and not expense that would have existed but for the Governor’s candidacy.”
Questions about the governor’s spending on hair and makeup had been raised by John Block, editor of the conservative Pinon Post website. Block filed an ethics complaint against Grisham in May, claiming the governor’s spending represented a “flagrant violation” of state law, the New Mexican reported.