A federal judge in Massachusetts has blocked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton from pursuing a lawsuit against the Democratic online fundraising platform ActBlue. U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns said Paxton took the legal action to further his political aspirations. Stearns noted that Paxton had initiated an investigation into ActBlue in December 2023 but had done little to move the matter forward until Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful James Talarico raised $2.2 million through ActBlue on a single day in February. Paxton's office then sought to show that ActBlue was improperly collecting money on Talarico's behalf by accepting donations through gift cards. And five days after Talarico reported raising a first-quarter record of $27 million, Paxton's office filed a civil lawsuit accusing ActBlue of violating Texas' Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
Stearns rejected the assertion and noted "Paxton’s well-known history of filing retaliatory lawsuits." ActBlue, which is based in Massachusetts, petitioned Stearns' court to block the lawsuit. Paxton's office argued in a hearing last week that Massachusetts was the wrong venue for such a claim.
Three top congressional Democrats have asked Paxton's office to turn over documents in a related matter. U.S. Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Robert Garcia of California and Joseph Morelle of New York are questioning why Paxton has targeted ActBlue but has not followed up on consumers' complaints about the Republican platform, WinRed.