Three-term incumbent Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont. — in a competitive race with Republican Tim Sheehy that could determine control of the Senate — is proving that dead people can contribute to Democrat political campaigns.
According to Federal Election Commission data, Tester received at least two donations from a dead person during the third quarter of this election season, the New York Post reported Friday.
Tester is trailing Sheehy by 8 percentage points (52%-44%) in a recent New York Times/Siena College poll. A Sheehy victory could give Republicans control of the Senate, given that the GOP is almost assured of picking up the seat in West Virginia vacated by Joe Manchin. Democrats have a slim 51-49 advantage in the upper chamber going into the election.
The FEC set a Tuesday deadline for filing third-quarter campaign finance reports, and Tester's revealed that his campaign received two $50 donations from Barbara McGowan of Bozeman, Montana — one on July 17, the day she died at age 83, according to her obituary, and another on Sept. 20.
In the FEC listing under "Employer/Occupation" for McGowan, it reads: "Deceased as of July 17."
FEC rules state that campaigns can accept contributions from an individual's estate made through a testamentary trust, subject to the same limitations and prohibitions that were applicable to the decedent during the decedent's lifetime. But the name of the trust and the name of the decedent must be listed on the campaign report. In this case, only McGowan's name and address were listed.
Newsmax reached out to Tester's campaign for comment.
Republicans are accusing Democrats of benefiting from allegedly fraudulent donations through online fundraising giant ActBlue, which set up a website for Tester.
On Tuesday, Mark Block, a chief of staff and campaign manager for the late Herman Cain, filed a racketeering lawsuit Monday in Wisconsin against ActBlue, accusing the group of stealing his identity to make 385 donations to left-leaning causes, including Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential PAC, the Post reported.
Block, a longtime Republican strategist, claimed in court documents that $884 had been given in his name and without his knowledge between May and October and suggested the contributions could be part of a scam ensnaring tens of thousands of other unwitting donors.
The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the House Administration Committee are conducting investigations into other "potentially fraudulent" ActBlue donations that might have generated suspicious activity reports at the Treasury Department, the Post reported.