Attor­ney Gen­er­al Pax­ton Appeals Mass­a­chu­setts Court Order That Unlaw­ful­ly Blocks Enforce­ment of Texas Con­sumer Pro­tec­tion Law Against ActBlue

Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed an opening brief in an appeal of a Massachusetts federal district court order. The court order blocks the OAG from proceeding with a Texas lawsuit to enforce Texas consumer protection laws against ActBlue.

ActBlue is a political fundraising platform that has processed more than $16 billion since 2004. Amid investigations by the OAG and Congress, ActBlue represented that it had strengthened its safeguards and no longer accepted gift card donations. However, the OAG's subsequent investigation found that ActBlue continued to process certain gift card donations despite those representations. In April 2026, Attorney General Paxton sued ActBlue in Texas state court under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act ("DTPA") because ActBlue misrepresented the services and safeguards it provided to campaigns and consumers.

ActBlue subsequently sued Attorney General Paxton in federal court in Massachusetts and sought to block the Texas enforcement action. On June 11, 2026, the district court issued a preliminary injunction preventing Attorney General Paxton and his office from continuing to litigate the Texas case or bringing another state enforcement action based on the same conduct. Attorney General Paxton has appealed the ruling, arguing that the Massachusetts federal court improperly interfered with ongoing state court proceedings in a Texas court concerning the enforcement of Texas consumer protection laws. The court also lacked jurisdiction over the OAG and was an improper venue for ActBlue's claims. Additionally, the district court mischaracterized Texas's lawsuit. The OAG is enforcing the DTPA against misrepresentations by a company doing business in Texas, not attempting to enforce federal campaign-finance law.

"A federal court in Massachusetts is wrong to prevent Texas from enforcing its own consumer protection laws against entities doing business in our State," said Attorney General Paxton. "ActBlue represented that it no longer accepted gift card donations, yet our investigators successfully made multiple gift card donations through its platform. We will fight for our right to hold companies accountable when they misrepresent the services that they provide to Texans."

Attorney General Paxton is asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to reverse the preliminary injunction and direct the district court to dismiss ActBlue's federal lawsuit. To read the filing, click here.