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Josh Mandel speaking to the supporters after he lost a 2012 race for U.S. Senate
The Washington Post via Getty Images
A political-action committee associated with Josh Mandel, an Ohio Republican running for Senate, spent $31,000 at Mar-a-Lago last quarter, according to a Federal Election Commission filing released earlier this month.
The PAC, named Team Josh, first paid Mar-a-Lago $18,000 on April 23 for “fundraising events,” according to the filing. A month later, the PAC dropped another $13,000 for the same purpose.
Three days after its April payment, Team Josh held a fundraiser at the club, featuring Trump’s former Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, according to an invite a campaign official provided to Forbes. Mandel picked up Friedman’s endorsement at the event.
Mar-a-Lago isn’t the only Trump property where Mandel, a onetime state treasurer in Ohio, has expressed his loyalty to the former president. In March, Mandel traveled to the Trump International Golf Club in Florida to attend a fundraiser for a different Ohio politician. It was there that Trump summoned Mandel and three other candidates to a back room to compete for his endorsement, according to Politico. In June, Mandel also stopped by Trump Tower in New York City, where he filmed a video wishing the former president a happy birthday.
It’s not clear whether all this patronage will pay off for Mandel. Trump has still not endorsed anyone in the Ohio Senate race.
Representatives for the Trump Organization did not respond to inquiries.
In April, Team Josh hosted a fundraiser at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago. Tickets started at $500 a person.
TEAM JOSH
I took an unusual route to get here. In a past life, I worked as a travel and food writer, which is how I got the assignment in 2016 to cover the grand opening of the
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I took an unusual route to get here. In a past life, I worked as a travel and food writer, which is how I got the assignment in 2016 to cover the grand opening of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., just a couple miles from my home. When Trump won the election and refused to divest his business, I stayed on the story, starting a newsletter called 1100 Pennsylvania (named after the hotel’s address) and contributed to Vanity Fair, Politico and NBC News. I’m still interested in Trump, but I’ve broadened my focus to follow the money connected to other politicians as well—both Republicans and Democrats.