The Republican online fundraising platform WinRed is standing by claims it is the victim of political harassment by a quartet of Democratic state attorneys general despite revelations Democratic counterpart ActBlue is facing a similar legal inquiry.
WinRed filed a complaint in federal court requesting relief from an inquiry into its business practices — specifically the use of pre-checked, recurring donation boxes to raise money for GOP entities.
ActBlue, the Democratic internet fundraising conduit, is subject to a similar inquiry from the same four Democratic state attorneys general. But WinRed insists it does not disprove its argument the Democrats are prosecuting a scheme to hamstring Republican fundraising ahead of 2022.
“Nothing changes the fact that Democrat AGs have only become interested in fundraising tools now that WinRed is successfully challenging ActBlue’s dominance,” a WinRed spokesman told the Washington Examiner Thursday. “ActBlue’s 15-year head start has produced a long trail of consumer complaints that Democrats happily turned a blind eye toward previously.”
The inquiry is spearheaded by attorneys general William Tong of Connecticut; Brian Frosh of Maryland; Keith Ellison of Minnesota; and Letitia James of New York.
In a letter to WinRed earlier this year, they claimed the use of pre-checked, recurring donation boxes violate state consumer protection laws: “These laws protect our residents from deceptive, unfair and fraudulent practices in the solicitation of contributions, including the use of pre-checked boxes to trap donors into making unintended recurring donations. Our state consumer protection laws are not preempted by the Federal Election Campaign Act.”
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After WinRed filed a complaint in United States District Court in Minnesota Thursday morning requesting “declaratory relief from the inquiry,” the New York Times reported ActBlue had received similar letters investigating its use of pre-checked, recurring donation boxes, a standard tool used in digital fundraising.
An ActBlue spokesman confirmed to the Washington Examiner it has been contacted by Democratic state attorneys general and, unlike WinRed, is participating.
“ActBlue received an inquiry from these attorneys general and worked with them to provide information that responded to their inquiry,” ActBlue said.
Republican operatives monitoring this issue emphasize there is no way to know if the Democrats behind the inquiry are treating ActBlue in the same hostile manner as WinRed without comparing the letters sent to both organizations. Beyond WinRed’s claim of political harassment, it is arguing state attorneys general have no jurisdiction over its operations because it is a federal political action committee governed by federal law and Federal Election Commission regulations.
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ActBlue launched in 2004 and provided Democrats with a critical advantage in fundraising for several years, enabling the party’s candidates and groups to collect money from across the country easily and with minimal expense. Republicans believe ActBlue is a key reason Democrats recaptured the House in a 40-seat swing in 2018.
Meanwhile, in the 2020 election cycle, ActBlue funneled $4.8 billion to Democratic candidates and liberal political and nonprofit organizations.
But through WinRed, unveiled in 2019, Republicans are closing the fundraising gap with the Democrats, making the GOP more competitive in the 2022 midterm elections, in which the party hopes to win back the House and Senate.
WinRed raised more than $2 billion for Republican candidates and other entities in less than two years in the last cycle. So far this year, WinRed has funneled more than $255 million to Republican candidates and groups, including $131.2 million in the second quarter.
