Court Battles

ActBlue sues Ken Paxton for ‘retaliation’ over donation vetting lawsuit

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by Sophie Brams - 05/01/26 7:28 PM ET

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by Sophie Brams - 05/01/26 7:28 PM ET

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ActBlue is suing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), arguing that his investigation and a separate lawsuit into the progressive fundraising platform amount to political retaliation for its role in raising money for Democratic candidates and causes.

The lawyers representing the platform asked a federal court in Massachusetts on Friday to stop Paxton from pursuing what it described as “retaliatory actions” against ActBlue that violate the First Amendment’s free speech protections.

“Paxton’s decision to use his government office to target ActBlue with legal sanctions as retribution for its protected speech and political association is an affront to the Constitution and must not be tolerated,” the filing states.

The Texas attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment on the lawsuit.

Paxton, who is running for U.S. Senate in Texas, alleged in a lawsuit filed earlier this month that ActBlue has misled Congress and the public about its donation process.

He asked a Tarrant County District Court judge to prohibit the platform from allowing contributions through gift cards and prepaid debit cards.

“ActBlue lied to Congress and to the American people, and I will ensure justice is served. It has blatantly ignored state law that prohibits deceptive practices, and it must pay for its illegal conduct,” Paxton said in a statement at the time.

In the new Friday lawsuit, ActBlue framed Paxton’s decision as an attempt to retaliate against them for aiding fundraising efforts for James Talarico, the Democratic challenger in the Senate race who hauled in a massive $27 million in the first quarter of the year.

It also said the attorney general’s lawsuit was “rife with false and inflammatory allegations,” noting that his investigators’ attempts to use gift cards on the platform were rejected by its automated tools.

Paxton has been investigating ActBlue over whether the platform was enabling donor fraud in violation of Texas state law since 2023, but the platform claims he “dispatched his investigators” to build a case against them just 24 hours after Talarico announced a $2 million fundraising haul.

“Paxton’s actions toward ActBlue—the principal small‑dollar fundraising platform for Democratic candidates and progressive causes—fit squarely within his broader pattern of targeting Democratic‑aligned political infrastructure with investigations that far exceed the scope of Paxton’s authority as Attorney General,” lawyers for ActBlue wrote.

Paxton is facing Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in a May 26 runoff for the GOP nomination for Senate, with the winner squaring off against Talarico in November.

Zach Schonfeld contributed.

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