New Mexico governor’s $6,000 to daughter for hair, makeup services not a campaign-finance violation: official

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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."

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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.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham speaks at the Statehouse in Santa Fe, N.M., June 11, 2021. (Associated Press)

But Vigil countered that her office’s guide for campaign-finance reporting in "no way precludes a candidate from making an expenditure on hair, makeup and nails," the newspaper reported.

"The key analysis," Vigil continued, "is whether the expenditure is reasonably attributable to the candidate’s campaign, not solely what the expense is."

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But Block blasted Vigil’s ruling, accusing Grisham of "shameless public corruption" and claiming New Mexico’s political system was "rotted to its very core."

"Whether it be paying $62,500 in hush money to sexual accusers for crotch-grabbing incidents or delving out over $6,000 to her daughter for hair and makeup, institutions New Mexicans are supposed to rely on refuse to hold the governor accountable," Block told the New Mexican in an email.

In an email to the New Mexican, Grisham campaign spokeswoman Kendall Witmer dismissed Block’s complaint.

"The blatantly sexist complaint from a discredited Republican operative was frivolous and without merit," Witmer wrote.

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In April, media reports said Grisham had agreed to pay $62,500 to settle a case in which a male former staffer claimed she had grabbed his crotch in 2018. Grisham’s office has denied any wrongdoing.

In February, local media reported that Grisham had spent more than $13,000 in taxpayer funds over a six-month period on items including groceries, dry cleaning and alcohol.

Earlier this month Grisham, 61, formally announced her plans to seek another term as governor.