The Democratic Party’s premier fundraising machine is facing an uncertain future amid investigations, staff departures, and political headwinds. ActBlue stands accused by Republicans of illegally collecting money for Democrats during the 2024 election by using deceptive methods. But its brushes with controversy go back further than the last cycle. And its next chapter could be consequential for a Democratic Party that is out of power and directionless. Part 1 of this Washington Examiner series examined what accusations ActBlue faces. Part 2 examined how ActBlue cashes in on sometimes destructive protester politics. Part 3 will look at the political ramifications of ActBlue’s legal problems.
As Republicans investigate ActBlue, the Democrats’ chief fundraising platform, some party members suggest that Democrats should consider other platforms ahead of the 2026 midterm elections and beyond.
Democrats have long bested Republicans at small-donor fundraising, but with ActBlue under heavy pressure from Republicans, time is of the essence for Democrats to diversify fundraising platforms.
The ActBlue drama comes at a sensitive moment for Democrats. Donald Trump’s dominance of Washington has left Democrats struggling to remain united in their opposition to the president.
A hit to their fundraising resources could prove catastrophic, although Democratic strategists claimed another platform would likely replace ActBlue.
ActBlue has come under repeated scrutiny from Republicans, including recently from Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), who, in a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel, called for the bureau to investigate the platform.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) wrote to the Treasury Department asking for an investigation into ActBlue charities and whether it “had reason to know it was handling payments that could support terror.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) similarly accused ActBlue of money laundering in an interview with One America News Network. “The way they set up their accounts, it would be very easy to launder money into there through fake credit card accounts, and fake names, and things like that,” Comer said.
Elon Musk, a key Trump ally who leads the Department of Government Efficiency, slammed ActBlue for allegedly bankrolling protests against Tesla, the company he co-founded and leads as CEO.
“An investigation has found 5 ActBlue-funded groups responsible for Tesla ‘protests’: Troublemakers, Disruption Project, Rise & Resist, Indivisible Project and Democratic Socialists of America,” he wrote last week on X, the social media platform he owns.
“ActBlue is currently under investigation for allowing foreign and illegal donations in criminal violation of campaign finance regulations,” he continued. “This week, 7 ActBlue senior officials resigned, including the associate general counsel.”
The platform is also facing internal problems, with at least seven senior officials resigning, according to the New York Times.
ActBlue hired a lobbyist last year to defend itself against the growing calls for investigations.
But with Democrats still struggling with a unified resistance to a Trump-dominated Washington, ActBlue’s problems come at a vulnerable moment.
Democratic strategist Brad Bannon suggested the GOP attacks against ActBlue will likely help Republicans to fundraise, putting even more pressure on Democrats to look elsewhere for fundraising efforts.
“I think the Republicans have a much better local infrastructure than Democrats do,” Bannon said. “And I think it would be very important for Democrats to develop a much better, fundraising infrastructure at the local level and also communications at the local level.”
Democrats have long pioneered small donor fundraising, with former President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign leading the way as Republicans struggled to match their counterparts.
ActBlue, in particular, is a fundraising juggernaut for Democrats.
Last year, the company announced that small donors raised roughly $50 million for then-Vice President Kamala Harris in less than 24 hours after she became the leading candidate to replace former President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee in July.
UPDATE: As of 9pm ET, grassroots supporters have raised $46.7 million through ActBlue following Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign launch. This has been the biggest fundraising day of the 2024 cycle. Small-dollar donors are fired up and ready to take on this election
— ActBlue (@actblue) July 22, 2024
In the two decades since it launched on June 28, 2004, ActBlue has raised more than $13 billion for Democrats.
Yet Democrats remain shut out of power in the White House and in Congress, making platforms such as ActBlue vulnerable to GOP-led investigations.
Some strategists said a focus on diversifying fundraising at the local level may be the better strategy ahead of future high-profile elections.
“If ActBlue is vulnerable to political attacks, sorry, ActBlue, but you are funding political campaigns from across the board, so of course you’re going to be under scrutiny and so respectfully … that’s the price you pay,” said Michael Ceraso, a Democratic strategist who has worked on several presidential campaigns. “No one should feel sorry for ActBlue.
“But state party chairs and state party can look at this and go, ‘OK, let’s reevaluate. Is there a more affordable way to do this? Is there a way to raise money?’” Ceraso continued. “‘Is there a way to empower state parties to do this? Is there a way to hyperlocalize this, to leave us less vulnerable and to put more money in our pockets to support our candidates?’”
Even before the most recent calls for investigating ActBlue, Marva Diaz, a political strategist and California Target Book publisher, has advised clients not to use the platform depending on the logistics of the campaign.
“In local races, especially when it’s not a partisan race, I usually advise my candidates not to use ActBlue because it is such a strong brand,” Diaz said. “And we don’t want to pigeonhole them as only the Democratic candidate that may or may not be then seen as accessible, or someone who brings all sides together by the independents and the Republicans.
“I have candidates that use multiple different types of platforms, and if one of those platforms happens to run into problems and go away, there are other solutions out there,” Diaz continued. “And I assume then there’d be an opening in the market for other people to launch.”
Democrats’ party infrastructure problems go beyond a weakened ActBlue, however.
Bannon, the Democratic strategist, also suggested that Democrats will need to step up a concerted communication effort to counter the unity the GOP currently faces.
“When Donald Trump sneezes, some local Republican committeewoman in Topeka gets a cold,” Bannon said. “When Chuck Schumer sneezes, very few Democrats are going to notice it at all. The Republicans have a much better infrastructure relationship between their national party and their local party. And I think Democrats should do everything they can to develop a better infrastructure and relationship with Democratic fundraising and communications forces at the local level because the Republicans have done a much better job on that than we have.”
Several Democratic lawmakers questioned by the Washington Examiner about ActBlue’s difficulties did not appear to know what was going on.
But a source familiar with Democratic campaigns explained that many lawmakers leave the minute details of how money is fundraised to consultants.
Lawmakers are “probably not overthinking the logistics and the tools that [their] team is using every single day,” said the expert, who requested anonymity to speak freely.
Other Democratic campaign groups, such as the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, did not respond to requests for comment, while the House Majority PAC and Progressive Change Campaign Committee declined to comment.
But should ActBlue lose its status as the dominant fundraising platform, Diaz said another platform would likely take its place.
HOW ACTBLUE MAKES MONEY OFF DISRUPTIVE PROTEST POLITICS
“ActBlue is not free,” Diaz said. “They charge for their services. So I’m assuming there’s going to be other people out there saying, yes, I can take that risk of launching my version of a platform, because it’s going to be beneficial and profitable.”
ActBlue did not respond to a request for comment.