Kalshi Suspends House Candidate Laurie Buckhout for Betting on Herself

In brief

• Kalshi suspended North Carolina Republican Laurie Buckhout for three years on Friday after finding she traded contracts on her own congressional race.
• She bought less than $1,000 of contracts and must pay a $2,589.96 penalty, having cooperated with the exchange's inquiry.
• Kalshi banned former Rep. George Santos for life in the same batch of notices, fining him $71,356 after he failed to cooperate.

Prediction market Kalshi has suspended North Carolina Republican House candidate Laurie Buckhout for three years after finding she bet on her own election, according to a settlement notice published Monday.

Buckhout launched her campaign in North Carolina's 1st Congressional District in December 2025 and bought less than $1,000 of contracts on her race against Democratic Rep. Don Davis, the notice states. As a candidate she qualified as a direct decision maker over the outcome, which bars trading under Rule 5.17(z) of the exchange's rulebook.

The settlement took effect Friday. It bars the retired Army colonel from Kalshi for three years and imposes a penalty of $2,589.96, more than double what she wagered. Kalshi's compliance department found she cooperated with the inquiry.

Buckhout acknowledged the wager to The Hill. "I bet on myself. Literally. It was a dumb mistake," she said, adding that she worked to put it right once she learned there was a problem. A Kalshi spokesperson declined to comment further to the publication.