For nearly $7 billion in campaign funds, President Donald Trump managed to return to the White House and Republicans control the House and Senate. But for Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, that amount doesn't seem like enough.
Abughazaleh thinks campaign funds should be used to feed people, not fund politicians' lifestyles. She has transformed her campaign headquarters in Rogers Park into a mutual aid hub, where anyone can come and receive basic necessities such as diapers, winter clothes, medical supplies, and even nail polish.
The campaign also offers a community fridge available at any time of day and hosts drives to collect specific supplies. A request for tampons for Chicago's Period Collective resulted in an outpouring of support, with over 5,600 items donated.
Abughazaleh believes her approach is more effective than simply running a conventional campaign. "I wanted to figure out the best way to use our funds to not just run a race, but also help the community," she said. "If every campaign did something like that, then every election would be a net benefit to the community, win or lose."
However, her approach has raised concerns about vote buying. Some people have accused the campaign of attempting to buy votes by offering free food and clothes.
Despite these risks, Abughazaleh's deputy campaign manager, Andre Martin, said that while there is a cost associated with running the mutual aid arm, it's not an easy thing to do. The campaign works with a compliance firm to monitor donations, but they also spend time helping people in need.
The Intercept thinks this approach is admirable and believes that if every campaign focused on helping their constituents, elections would become more beneficial for the community.
Abughazaleh thinks campaign funds should be used to feed people, not fund politicians' lifestyles. She has transformed her campaign headquarters in Rogers Park into a mutual aid hub, where anyone can come and receive basic necessities such as diapers, winter clothes, medical supplies, and even nail polish.
The campaign also offers a community fridge available at any time of day and hosts drives to collect specific supplies. A request for tampons for Chicago's Period Collective resulted in an outpouring of support, with over 5,600 items donated.
Abughazaleh believes her approach is more effective than simply running a conventional campaign. "I wanted to figure out the best way to use our funds to not just run a race, but also help the community," she said. "If every campaign did something like that, then every election would be a net benefit to the community, win or lose."
However, her approach has raised concerns about vote buying. Some people have accused the campaign of attempting to buy votes by offering free food and clothes.
Despite these risks, Abughazaleh's deputy campaign manager, Andre Martin, said that while there is a cost associated with running the mutual aid arm, it's not an easy thing to do. The campaign works with a compliance firm to monitor donations, but they also spend time helping people in need.
The Intercept thinks this approach is admirable and believes that if every campaign focused on helping their constituents, elections would become more beneficial for the community.
This whole situation has me thinking... I'm all for supporting candidates who are making a positive impact on their communities, but let's not sugarcoat it - some of these initiatives do smell like vote buying 
. Like, what's to stop people from just donating because they want Kat Abughazaleh to win? It's a slippery slope, you know?
Still, I gotta give props to Abughazaleh for trying something new and innovative - we need more politicians who are willing to think outside the box (or in this case, the ballot box)! 
My ex-girlfriend had a similar idea for her activism group, we started a free food truck and it was a total hit! People loved getting free meals, but some of our friends thought we were just trying to get them to vote for us. I'm like "no way, we're just feeding the hungry!" 
Anyway, I think this is a super cool approach and if more campaigns did something like this, it would be amazing for the community! 
... like, what's wrong with using your funds to help people in need? I mean, shouldn't that be a part of being an elected official? It seems pretty common sense to me. And yeah, the community fridge idea is genius - who needs fancy campaign events when you can just hook up folks with essentials? 
The fact that it's raised some concerns about vote buying is weird, though... if people are just getting free stuff because they're voting for her, then what's the point of even voting? But at the same time, I get where Abughazaleh is coming from - if she's gonna spend millions on a campaign, she should be using some of it to make a real difference in her community. And honestly, I'm kinda inspired by this idea... maybe every candidate should do something like this? 
by Kat Abughazaleh's campaign HQ turning into a mutual aid hub 
! $7 billion can't buy you love and kindness, but offering diapers and nail polish to people in need? That's real change 
. Of course, there are concerns about vote buying, but if the money is being used to help people, then I'm all for it 
. This is what politics should be about – not just power struggles, but actual change that benefits everyone 
.
. I mean, instead of just trying to win votes, she's actually giving back to her community. It's like, yeah, politicians should be able to live decent lives too, but at the end of the day, their job is to help people, not just themselves. And it sounds like she's finding a way to do that in a pretty creative way 
. Like, what other candidate does that? 
. And yeah, it's weird that some people are worried about vote buying - I mean, shouldn't campaigns be more about serving the public than themselves? 
. It's time for campaigns to prioritize people over profits 
.
We need more of this kind of thinking and less of the "buying votes" nonsense. I'm all for it! 
. Let's give her some props for trying to make a positive impact 
.
. And I love that she's working with a compliance firm to make sure everything is on the up and up 
. KUDOS TO KAT FOR THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX AND PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST 
. It's all about perspective, right?
. Of course, theres some concerns about vote buying, but its not like she's just handing out free stuff for votes 
. Its about creating a win-win situation where both the community and her campaign benefit 
it's about time we start focusing on helping people, not just lining our own pockets 
. Instead of just focusing on winning votes, she's trying to make a real difference in her community 
. And yeah, it's not all sunshine and rainbows - there are concerns about vote buying 
. Maybe one day they'll figure out how to make it work without compromising their values or getting into trouble