The campaign of Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Wednesday against Republican nominee Ken Paxton and his campaign treasurer, John Plishka. The complaint alleges that Paxton and Plishka used a Virginia-based nonprofit to route over $1 million to a pro-Paxton super PAC, Lone Star Liberty, in violation of federal contribution limits and disclosure requirements.
Under the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, individual donations to Senate campaigns are capped at $3,500 per election, and contributions exceeding $200 must be publicly disclosed. Super PACs may raise and spend unlimited sums but are prohibited from coordinating directly with candidates. Talarico’s campaign manager, Seth Krasne, requested an FEC investigation, alleging that the nonprofit Preserve Texas, Inc. was established and controlled by Paxton’s agent to shield donors from public scrutiny.
Corporate documents filed in Virginia show that Preserve Texas was incorporated by Plishka, who also serves as the treasurer for Paxton’s Senate campaign. Federal Election Commission records indicate the nonprofit made four donations totaling more than $1 million to Lone Star Liberty between February and May. Preya Samsundar, a spokesperson for Preserve Texas, stated the group is an independent social welfare organization and that Plishka’s role is purely administrative, involving no strategic decision-making.
The FEC is currently unable to vote on opening new investigations due to a lack of commissioners following several departures. This means voters may not receive a resolution or learn the identities of the anonymous donors behind the $1 million contribution before Election Day. Lone Star Liberty recently launched a $15 million ad campaign across 18 Texas markets. If the FEC eventually finds a violation, it could set a precedent regarding the "agent" status of campaign treasurers who also manage non-disclosing political nonprofits.
An analysis in late August estimated $1 billion in anonymous political money across the 2026 midterms. While Talarico out-fundraises Paxton, recent Texas history shows that high fundraising does not always correlate with victory; in 2024, Democrat Colin Allred raised $21 million more than Sen. Ted Cruz but lost by 8.5 percentage points. The next procedural steps depend on the appointment of new FEC commissioners or future rulings on the coordination between candidates and outside spending groups following the Supreme Court's removal of federal limits on how much political parties could spend in coordination with their candidates.