Far-right YouTuber Brandon Herrera is facing U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales in a May 28 runoff. Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Gage Skidmore

The Federal Election Commission is again poking around the campaign finances of unsuccessful U.S. House candidate Brandon Herrera, this time asking the Republican political novice to provide more info on the employment and occupation status of donors.

On Tuesday, the FEC sent a letter to Herrera campaign treasurer Thomas Datwyler — a longtime GOP operative with reported ties to expelled New York Congressman George Santos — demanding that he provide accurate occupation and employment information for donors who donated $200 or more to Herrera’s Victory Committee.

Several donors, some contributing upwards of $1,000, filled out the employment and occupation section incorrectly or left it empty, according to the FEC’s correspondence. Under federal law, all political donors who give more than $200 must be identified with a full name, a complete mailing address, their occupation and the name of their employer.

Herrera’s campaign, which didn’t respond to the Current‘s requests for comment, has until July 16 to either correct the purported errors or show that its officials made a “best effort” to contact the donor and provide more information.

Tuesday’s FEC letter comes a week after the regulator sent four inquiries to Datwyler about a $50,000 loan Herrera made to his own campaign in December. Herrera only reported earning an $84,000 annual salary in 2022, according to a financial disclosure report he filed in September with the U.S. House.

Herrera’s campaign has until July 8 to clarify details about that loan.

Failure clarify details in either of those FEC inquiries could lead to a fine — something Herrera campaign treasurer Datylwer has incurred before, according to press reports.

Last year, Datwyler paid more than $20,000 in administrative fines for alleged violations of the campaign-finance reporting rule, according to Maryland’s Frederick News-Post. The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office also opened an investigation into the Invest in Mississippi PAC, for which Datwyler was listed as a treasurer, as reported by the Magnolia Tribune.

What’s more, Datwyler’s name popped up in an extensive Daily Beast investigation about the campaign finances of New York Congressman George Santos, who was booted out of Congress late last year over accusations of financial misdeeds.

The Daily Beast article suggested Datwyler may have acted as Santos’ shadow campaign treasurer. Although Santos’ campaign listed Andrew Olson, an account manager at a Minneapolis tool retailer, as its official treasurer, the news site’s reported that Datwyler was more likely handling Santos’ books.

Last week, Herrera announced that was demanding a recount in the GOP runoff for Texas’ 23rd congressional district after losing to incumbent U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales by 407 votes.

“I’ve accepted the results, however I felt I owed it to the voters and supporters all asking for one just to ensure all I’s were dotted and T’s crossed,” Herrera wrote in a tweet.

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Feds launch new probe of U.S. House candidate Brandon Herrera’s campaign finances

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