A new inquiry has commenced involving one of the most outspoken progressive Democrats in Congress.
On April 2, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) officially initiated an investigation into Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) following a complaint lodged by the conservative Coolidge-Reagan Foundation. This complaint, submitted on March 26, focuses on questionable donations made to Crockett’s 2024 re-election campaign via ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s primary fundraising platform.
In a letter to the foundation, the FEC stated, “The respondents will be notified of this complaint within five business days.” The correspondence, authored by FEC Assistant General Counsel Wanda D. Brown, further noted, “You will be informed as soon as the Federal Election Commission (FEC) takes final action on your client’s complaint. If you receive any additional information regarding this matter, please forward it to the Office of the General Counsel.” This letter was directed to Dan Backer, a Washington attorney representing the Coolidge-Reagan Foundation.
Backer confirmed to The Daily Signal, “The FEC has opened an investigation. There is a process in place, but they are indeed investigating.”
Central to the complaint is a donor named Randy Best, a 73-year-old resident of Texas, who reportedly made 53 individual donations amounting to $595 to Crockett’s campaign through ActBlue. However, Best’s wife, who appeared in a video shared by Crockett’s potential opponent for 2026, Sholdon Daniels, claimed to have no knowledge of these donations. This has raised suspicions that Best—and possibly others—may not have actually made the contributions attributed to them. According to the filing by the Coolidge-Reagan Foundation, Crockett’s campaign has received approximately $870,000 in total through ActBlue.
The complaint states: “Rep. Crockett, through her principal campaign committee Respondent Jasmine for US, has received thousands of other donations through ActBlue totaling over $870,000. It remains unclear how many of these may also be fraudulent transactions made in the name of others.”Crockett is not the sole Democrat utilizing the ActBlue platform; however, this situation has attracted increasing attention from congressional Republicans and several state attorneys general affiliated with the GOP. Prior investigations and reports have highlighted instances where elderly individuals reportedly did not realize that donations were being made in their names.
Backer informed The Daily Signal, “It may be a plausible defense for Rep. Crockett and other Democrats to claim, ‘We did not request those donations; they were all processed through ActBlue.’ However, that would constitute willful ignorance.”
He further stated, “Legally, the campaign committee treasurer bears the responsibility for due diligence. The treasurer might assert, ‘We had complete trust in ActBlue.’ Yet, ActBlue is currently under scrutiny by both state and federal authorities. That justification may have been acceptable a year ago.” At present, Crockett has 15 days to address the allegations, although the FEC often allows extensions of 30 to 60 days during investigations. Neither Crockett’s congressional office, her campaign, nor ActBlue has responded to media inquiries concerning this issue.
ActBlue has consistently asserted that it adheres to all relevant campaign finance regulations and has described the escalating criticism as politically motivated.
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