Common: Friends and family sharing Netflix logins.

Uncommon: Lawmakers billing their Netflix subscriptions to their campaign accounts.

That is, unless you’re State Rep. Dan Flynn (R–Van). The East Texas lawmaker, who has served in the Texas House since 2003, did exactly that for years.

Campaign finance records filed with the state reveal Flynn forked over hundreds of dollars for the streaming entertainment provider from 2015 to 2017, all on the dime of his campaign contributors.

On his reports, Flynn simply categorized the streaming service that hosts every season of The Office, Doctor Who, and Star Trek: The Next Generation as “overhead.”

Texas Scorecard could not find records of any other lawmaker attempting the same thing.

These reports are part of a trend for Flynn, who has previously been called out for his lavish use of campaign dollars on lifestyle expenses. A 2017 article by The Texas Monitor labeled Flynn as one of the biggest spenders in the Texas House, shelling out six-figure amounts from his campaign fund to travel to conferences all over the world, as well as spending nearly $200,000 on Austin living expenses and $30,000 on furniture.

Flynn has even spent nearly $14,000 of his campaign dollars on cookies—enough to make even Cookie Monster blush—all while delivering crumbs to the conservatives who originally elected him to office.

The credits could soon roll on Flynn’s tenure, however.

Flynn faces two conservative challengers in the Republican primary: Dwayne “Doc” Collins of Edom, a veterinarian and conservative activist who has helped start five tea party organizations in East Texas; and Bryan Slaton, a conservative small businessman from Royse City who has challenged Flynn in the last two primary elections.

Voters will decide if Flynn should be renewed for another season in the Republican primary election on March 3. Early voting for that election is ongoing.

Brandon Waltens

Brandon serves as the Senior Editor for Texas Scorecard. After managing successful campaigns for top conservative legislators and serving as a Chief of Staff in the Texas Capitol, Brandon moved outside the dome in order to shine a spotlight on conservative victories and establishment corruption in Austin. @bwaltens

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