Federal regulators ask Ted Cruz’s campaign to explain $593,00 in oddly timed small donations

Federal regulators have asked the reelection campaign of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to explain $593,000 in donations it claims to have collected from unidentified small donors in the final weeks of 2024.

In a newly filed letter, the Federal Election Commission asked Ted Cruz for Senate Treasurer Bradley Scott Knippa to provide an itemized accounting for the apparent windfall in small contributions the campaign collected from Nov. 26 to Dec. 31. The campaign’s federal filing for that period suggests it raked in the windfall from individual donors after Cruz won his Nov. 5 reelection victory over Democratic challenger U.S. Rep. Colin Allred.

Typically, donations drop substantially in the weeks following an election.

The FEC’s letter gives the campaign until May 7 to itemize the contributions, including the donors’ full names, addresses, corporate affiliations and more. Failure to do so “could result in an audit or enforcement action,” the commission warned.

“When contributions from an individual reach $200 for an election cycle, each subsequent contribution from that individual must be itemized, regardless of the amount,” the FEC’s letter stated. “The itemization should include the full name, mailing address and zip code of the person, along with the name of his/her employer, the date of the contribution, his/her occupation, the election designation and the election cycle-to-date amount of contributions made by the person.”
Officials with Cruz’s campaign were unavailable for comment by press time.

While it’s not uncommon for the FEC to send letters to political campaigns asking them to clarify filings, this inquiry comes shortly after watchdog groups targeted Cruz with complaints calling out a controversial deal he struck for syndication of his Verdict With Ted Cruz podcast.

Last year, Campaign Legal Center and End Citizens United asked the FEC to investigate a syndication contract Cruz struck with San Antonio-based radio group iHeartMedia. While the senator received no direct compensation from the podcast, the company pumped nearly $1 million in advertising-related payments into a super PAC supporting his reelection bid.

Under law, super PACs can accept direct corporate donations, but candidates themselves can’t “solicit, receive, direct, transfer, or spend funds” on behalf of the fundraising entities. Campaign Legal Center and End Citizens United argued that, by appearances, Cruz or a surrogate instructed iHeartMedia to flow money into the superPAC as part of their agreement.

The FEC voted 5-1 in February to dismiss the groups’ complaint, stating that the senator hadn’t violated any campaign finance laws through his deal with iHeartMedia.

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This article appears in Apr 2-15, 2025.