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- Bo Hines, a congressional candidate from North Carolina, twice claimed that he and his wife "can't afford to give up a month's salary."
- The Republican reports no salary on his most recently reported personal finance disclosure.
- A trust fund is the only reported asset in Hines' financial disclosure.
At a Republican event in September, North Carolina congressional candidate Bo Hines bemoaned the state of the economy: "Me and my wife, we can't afford to give up a month's salary."
He repeated this assertion in an interview earlier this month.
"With 8.3% inflation, that is the equivalent of one month salary for the average American," he said. "I know in my household, my wife and I can't afford to give up one month's salary. We have bills to pay, we have rent to pay."
But the 27-year-old Republican upstart, backed by former President Donald Trump, reported having no salary at all, according to his certified personal financial disclosure, which he filed with congressional regulators on May 20.
In the disclosure, Hines reported no salary and no spousal assets, and asserted that he has not excluded any assets that belong to his wife, Mary Charles Hines. Axios' Lachlan Markay first noted Hines' financial situation, which includes no reported bank account or earned income and compensation, and zero loans or liabilities.
Hines' campaign did not initially respond to Insider's requests for comment.
Following publication of this story, Rob Burgess, Hines' senior advisor, told Insider: "Bo Hines has worked in and around his family businesses since he was a teenager. Upon deciding to run for Congress, he chose to fully invest his time and energy into representing this community. Bo and his wife, Mary Charles, live a very modest lifestyle and understand the struggles that North Carolina families are experiencing."
Burgess also criticized Hines' opponent, state Sen. Wiley Nickel, a Democrat, as wealthy and out of touch with "what North Carolina families are crying out for," because of his support for President Joe Biden's "failed economic agenda."
Nickel's campaign did not respond to Insider's request for comment. But Nickel commented on Insider's story on Twitter, saying: "My opponent is a 27-year-old trust fund kid. He's completely out of touch with the needs of hard working North Carolina families."
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Despite not having a reported job or salary, Hines has personally pumped more than $925,000 into his own congressional campaign, according to the latest financial disclosures he filed with the Federal Election Commission covering campaign activity through September 30.
His trust fund, named Hines Children's Trust, is the only reported asset on his personal financial disclosure. In May, he valued income he this year received from the trust fund at between $100,000 and $1 million.
Hines, a former college football player and graduate of Wake Forest Law School, is running for Congress in North Carolina's 13th Congressional District.
Trump, who endorsed Hines in March, called him a "proven winner both on and off the field" and a "fighter for Conservative values."
The race between Hines and Nickel is highly competitive. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rated the race, in North Carolina's 13th Congressional District, a "toss-up."
This article was originally published on October 17, 2022, and updated to include new comments from Hines and Nickel.
source https://www.businessinsider.com/bo-hines-congress-salary-voters-personal-finance-2022-10