Republican fundraising platform WinRed has filed a lawsuit alleging politically motivated harassment after it was targeted by four Democratic state attorneys general who sent letters inquiring into the organization's business practices.
Attorneys general in New York, Connecticut, Maryland and Minnesota are accusing WinRed of violating state laws by using "pre-checked" recurring donation boxes to raise money on its website for conservative candidates and groups.
However, research conducted by the GOP fundraising platform revealed that three of the four AGs behind the inquiry - Ellison (MN), James (NY) and Frosh (MD) - have been engaging in the same practices as part of their own donor solicitation efforts through Democratic fundraising organization ActBlue. The tactics were also used by the Biden-Harris 2020 presidential campaign and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, according to publicly available information.
Officials at WinRed believe the inquiries by the AGs are part of a political ploy to hinder Republican fundraising power leading into the critical 2022 election cycle. Democrats are expected to intensify their campaign efforts in the coming months as they aim to hold onto their majority in the House and gain control over an evenly divided Senate.
"Four Democrat Attorneys General are exploiting their positions of power for partisan gain and targeting WinRed for fundraising tactics that Democrats themselves pioneered and still use to this day. While pursuing these actions, these Democrat AGs are actively fundraising on ActBlue," a statement released by WinRed said.
According to WinRed's complaint, which was filed July 7 in U.S district court in Minnesota, the letters sent by the AGs also "sought a wide variety of information regarding WinRed's organization, ownership and leadership, business model, its clients, its internal technical practices, and its internal communications, all while raising the specter of forthcoming enforcement actions with respect to deceptive solicitation practices."
The four AGs wrote in one letter sent to WinRed earlier this year that consumer laws in their states "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," according to The Washington Examiner.
In response to the inquiry, WinRed emphasized that as a registered political action committee, its activities are solely regulated by federal law - not state law - under the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) and Federal Elections Commission (FEC).
"As a federal PAC, WinRed is subject to a significant number of FECA required disclaimers, disclosures, and information collection requirements... WinRed complies with all of the FECA-required disclaimer, disclosure and information collection requirements," WinRed's suit stated.
WinRed emerged in 2019 to combat the success of ActBlue, which has funneled billions of dollars in donations from more than 13 million left-leaning donors since its inception in 2004.
According to FEC records, Ellison has been engaging in fundraising efforts on ActBlue’s website since at least 2008. Data shows that his AG campaign account paid the platform a total of $42,400.54 between 2018 and 2020. ActBlue charges users a 3.95% credit card processing fee, indicating that Ellison received more than $329,000 in contributions from the website in that timeframe.
Frosh collected a total of $99,508.60 in donations through ActBlue since 2013, while James took in more than $1 million in contributions from the platform during 2018, publicly available records show.
Though Connecticut AG William Tong does not appear to be actively using ActBlue, the platform is utilized by the Connecticut Democratic Party.
ActBlue has allowed campaigns to collect recurring contributions from donors from the beginning of its operations. Since at least 2016, the platform also began allowing campaigns to turn on the pre-checked recurring donation option by default.
In 2020, several individuals who donated to former President Donald Trump's re-election campaign complained the pre-checked boxes used by WinRed cost them more money than they wished to donate. ActBlue also received numerous complaints about the policy but solved the issues individually without altering its approach to contributions.
Seeking declaratory relief from the AGs' probe, the complaint requested that the court “permanently enjoin the Attorneys General of Minnesota, New York, Connecticut, and Maryland from their partisan and disruptive inquiries into WinRed’s practices, which are entirely unsupported by law, and unnecessary given WinRed’s thorough compliance with applicable federal law.”
ActBlue stated that it also received an inquiry from these attorneys general, but it is unclear what the letter specifically requested or what information ActBlue has provided in response. WinRed and numerous supporters have continued to stand by the harassment claims and argue that the probe should be put to rest given the fact that it complies with all FEC regulations.
"The hypocritical attacks by Democrats on @WINRED make clear they are terrified of our progress. The @RSLC's continued commitment to our digital fundraising program has allowed us to shatter fundraising records and hit the ground running this cycle- We’re just getting started!" said Dee Duncan, president of the Republican State Leadership Committee, in a July 8 Tweet.
In recent months, WinRed has successfully revolutionized Republican fundraising efforts - with united support from the Trump campaign, the RNC, and committees representing state, Senate and House Republicans - by promoting small-dollar contributions. The organization amassed $101 million in its first six months of operation alone.
The platform's powerhouse status was further cemented last year after it raised a total of over $1 billion for Republicans by October of 2020, just 15 months after its launch, with an average donation amount of just $47.
“Only when Republicans began challenging the Democrats’ long-held advantage in online fundraising did these Democrat Attorneys General activate. It’s troubling to see these AGs attempt to use the power of their offices for the purpose of helping the Democrat Party," the statement by WinRed said.