Kalshi suspends North Carolina candidate over bets on her own race

Kalshi suspended Laurie Buckhout, the Republican nominee for North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, after finding that she bought contracts tied to her own House race. The exchange also fined her $2,589.96 and barred her from direct or indirect access for three years.

According to a settlement notice dated 28 August, Kalshi’s disciplinary panel said Buckhout had announced her candidacy and was later added as a market option on a North Carolina congressional election contract. The notice said that, as a candidate, she qualified as a direct decision maker for the contract and had direct influence on the outcome of the underlying event.

The notice said Buckhout purchased less than $1,000 worth of contracts related to her own candidacy. It said she cooperated with the inquiry and agreed to resolve the matter by accepting the panel’s conclusions, paying the penalty and accepting the trading restriction.

Kalshi’s rules prohibit trading on contracts when the trader is a decision maker or has influence over the outcome of the event. NC Newsline reported that the company announced disciplinary action against Buckhout and other politicians on Monday as part of a national investigation into insider trading.

Buckhout told NC Newsline she was unaware her actions violated the rules. “I bet on myself. Literally. It was a dumb mistake,” she said, adding, “As soon as I learned there was an issue, I worked to make it right.”

Don Davis, the Democrat she is challenging in a rematch, called the episode a “disqualifying breach of public trust.” He said Eastern North Carolinians were struggling with everyday costs while his opponent treated a congressional election as “an opportunity to cash in.”

The case lands amid wider scrutiny of prediction markets. In February, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said it had issued an advisory after public release of two enforcement cases involving misuse of nonpublic information and fraud on KalshiEX, and it said the commission has full authority to police illegal trading practices on designated contracts markets, including prediction markets.