Ken Paxton, Texas attorney general and Republican US Senate candidate, during a campaign event at The Angry Elephant in Magnolia, Texas, US, on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. The Texas Senate race's price tag is already up to more than $160 million for bot …
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton must drop his lawsuit against Democratic donor platform ActBlue, a federal judge in Boston ruled Thursday.
ActBlue sued Paxton in May claiming the attorney general's investigation into the donation platform was politically motivated. Paxton's office claimed ActBlue violated the state's deceptive trade practice laws by allowing "bad actors" to make donations using fake names and untraceable payment methods.
District Judge Richard Stearns sided with ActBlue, pointing out that Paxton's investigation into the platform "lay dormant" until February, when state Rep. James Talarico announced that his Senate campaign raised more than $2.5 million within 24 hours of his appearance on Stephen Colbert's late night show. Around $2.2 million came from ActBlue.
At the time, both Paxton and Talarico were each trying to win their party's nomination for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. John Cornyn.
What they're saying:
"Paxton touted the lawsuit on several conservative podcasts and in his campaign emails during the following few days, linking it to ActBlue’s fundraising for liberal Democrats and to his Senate candidacy," Stearns said.
In his order, Stearns questioned the timing and motivation of Paxton's lawsuit, which claimed ActBlue allowed donations from people outside the United States and from those who had already hit federal donor limits.
"The truth is plain and captured in Paxton’s own declarations: The lawsuit was filed in retaliation for (and in an attempt to suppress) ActBlue’s efforts to fund Talarico’s campaign," Stearns wrote.
Paxton first opened an investigation into ActBlue in 2023. The office later sent a letter to the Federal Eletions Commission claiming to have found evidence "that bad actors can illegally interfere in American elections by disguising political donations."
Stearns said that investigation didn't move until Talarico filed his fundraising report to the FEC on April 15. Paxton's office filed a lawsuit in state court five days later.
Texas lawsuit targets ActBlue over claims of foreign influence and 'dark money' donations
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against ActBlue on Monday, alleging the prominent Democratic fundraising platform deceived the public about safeguards intended to prevent fraudulent and foreign campaign contributions.
He also cited Paxton's "well-known history of filing retaliatory lawsuits" and his not taking action on similar complaints against conservative fundraising platform, WinRed.
"The lawsuit in Texas is undoubtedly an adverse action. And having previously found bad faith, the court agrees with ActBlue
that the evidence in the record compels the conclusion that, far from protecting Texas consumers, the action was filed in retaliation for ActBlue’s fundraising on behalf of Talarico, Paxton’s current political rival for the Senate seat," Stearns said.
ActBlue called the decision a victory for "every organization that has been targeted because of its mission."
"This ruling affirms that political fundraising is core to free speech and protected by the First Amendment. The Texas Attorney General attempted to silence everyday Americans who want to donate to candidates and causes they believe in. The court clearly chose the Constitution over partisan politics," Lawrence Oliver, Chief Legal Officer at ActBlue, said.
Thursday's decision prevents Paxton's state lawsuit against ActBlue from moving forward and prevents the office from filing new litigation against the platform claiming similar conduct.
The Source: Information in this article comes from court filings in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, the Office of the Attorney General and ActBlue.