A Massachusetts federal judge appointed by President Bill Clinton has blocked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit against the Democrat fundraising platform ActBlue.
🚨 A federal judge in Massachusetts blocked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton from continuing his state court lawsuit against ActBlue, finding it was likely brought because the platform helped raise money for his Senate rival James Talarico. pic.twitter.com/hVjZOtzxvD
— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) June 11, 2026
#TexasSenate
— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) June 11, 2026
Politico: Federal judge blocks Texas AG Ken Paxton’s suit accusing ActBlue, the Democratic fundraising platform, of violating Texas’ Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
Judge says Paxton acted in retaliation for (and in an attempt to suppress) ActBlue funding for James… pic.twitter.com/W1be9kc882
District Judge Richard Stearns claimed that the suit amounted to “retaliation” against Paxton’s Democrat opponent, specifically naming the Democrat U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico as the impetus behind the legal action.
“The lawsuit in Texas is undoubtedly an adverse action,” Stearns said in his decision. “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.”
In reality, Paxton’s investigation into the fundraising platform over fraudulent and misleading donation processes began back in 2023, two years before Talarico would declare his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. In 2024, Paxton submitted a Petition for Rulemaking to the Federal Election Commission in hopes of closing fundraising loopholes.
Paxton has announced his intention to appeal the decision, saying “Texas has every right to enforce its own laws to protect our citizens, and we will continue to fight to hold ActBlue accountable.
I will be appealing this flawed ruling by a Clinton-appointed Massachusetts judge.
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) June 13, 2026
Texas has every right to enforce its own laws to protect our citizens, and we will continue to fight to hold ActBlue accountable. https://t.co/5aP3QytWuu
No other statement from his office has been released at this time.