In New Jersey, for example, Democratic Party candidate Rebecca Bennett has pitched herself as a parent with firsthand understanding of the "rising costs and economic uncertainty" facing American families, but financial records show she collected a combined salary of nearly $250,000 in 2024 and holds an extensive investment portfolio with assets potentially worth nearly $1.8 million and no reportable liabilities. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., has said he "never had the luxury of financial wealth," argued voters are drawn to candidates who do not "come from wealth," and described his mother as working long hours in Mexico’s "maquiladora industry" to make ends meet. But records reviewed by Fox News Digital show his mother held corporate finance roles at GE, including as a finance manager and comptroller in Mexico and later as a senior finance analyst in Indiana, while social media screenshots shared with Fox News Digital show repeated European travel, luxury shopping and other upscale family photos.
DEM IN KEY SWING RACE MISSED NEARLY HALF HER STATE HOUSE VOTES WHILE TAKING TAXPAYER SALARY: 'NO SHOW' Meanwhile, in Washington state, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., has built part of her blue-collar image around her time working in an auto shop and her Reed College history, saying she worked three jobs and paid for the private liberal arts school "by the credit hour" after her parents stopped paying tuition. But financial disclosures reviewed by Fox News Digital did not list reportable student-loan debt, while critics familiar with her time at Reed College have questioned whether jobs Gluesenkamp Perez cited, including as a nanny, campus barista and at an "iPhone case factory," could have plausibly covered the school’s cost.
"Voters can see through the phony double-talk easier than politicians ever realize. It’s far better to be who you are and offer a compelling vision to make voters’ lives better than contort your own biography and background into something it’s not," Republican strategist Colin Reed told Fox News Digital. "Under normal circumstances, financial success and upward mobility would be attributes to lean into as selling points on the campaign trail.
But with socialism ascendant and the demonization of wealth not far behind, these are far from normal times." DEMOCRATS CAUGHT ON CAMERA COACHING CANDIDATE ON HOW TO BE 'AUTHENTIC' IN 2026 MESSAGING Bennett, who is running in New Jersey’s competitive 7th Congressional District, disclosed dozens of investments, retirement accounts and other assets in an amended candidate financial disclosure filed with the House on May 15 and reviewed by Fox News Digital. Based on the value ranges listed in the disclosure, her reported assets could be worth as much as roughly $1.8 million. The filing listed no reportable liabilities.
Among the holdings were three valued between $50,001 and $100,000 apiece and 17 more valued between $15,001 and $50,000. Because the disclosure reports assets in broad value ranges rather than exact amounts, Bennett’s reported holdings total roughly $447,000 at the low end and nearly $1.8 million at the high end. Using the midpoint of each disclosed range puts their estimated value at roughly $1.12 million.
The disclosure also showed that Bennett received nearly $200,000 in salary from Noom in 2024 and nearly $46,000 from Oshi Health that year, for more than $242,000 combined. The financial picture contrasts with the economic message Bennett has emphasized on the campaign trail, where she has repeatedly invoked her own family's finances and experience as a mother of two. In a June 18 campaign post titled "My 2010 Honda Accord," Bennett said she and her husband still drove the 16-year-old car because "it’s what we can afford," arguing Washington needs more "regular people" who understand families’ financial pressures firsthand.
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