Kalshi Suspends Candidate Laurie Buckhout for Trading on Her Own Election

According to Huoxing Finance, the prediction market platform Kalshi announced a three-year suspension of trading privileges and a $2,589.96 fine for Laurie Buckhout, a Republican congressional candidate from North Carolina, for purchasing contracts related to her own campaign. Under a settlement agreement effective August 28, Buckhout bought contracts worth less than $1,000 tied to her candidacy, violating Kalshi’s Rule 5.17(z), which prohibits trading by individuals with “direct or indirect influence” over the outcome. In a statement, Buckhout said: “I did bet on myself, and it was a foolish mistake—I immediately cooperated and corrected it once I recognized the issue. My career as a Kalshi trader was brief.” Kalshi noted that Buckhout cooperated fully during the investigation and agreed to the penalty. Previously, Kalshi imposed similar penalties on several politicians, including Minnesota Senator Matt Klein and former Texas congressional candidate Ezekiel Enriquez, for betting on their own campaigns. Buckhout, a retired U.S. Army colonel and former Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy, is challenging Democratic Representative Don Davis in a rematch of their 2024 contest, in which Davis won with 49.5% to Buckhout’s 47.8%. Last year, North Carolina’s state legislature redrew the district boundaries to favor Republicans, and the Cook Political Report now rates the district as “Republican-leaning.”