James Frank Clark is a lifelong Republican who lives in Texas. He spends his time between his home in a suburb northwest of Houston and a small town called Kerrville, northwest of San Antonio. He lives in fairly conservative areas so it’s no surprise that his candidates of choice are Republicans.
That’s why he signed up to donate to GOP candidates through WinRed — an overarching political action committee (PAC) that donates to Republican candidates across the United States.
As far as he knew, he made a handful of small donations here and there. But that’s not what ended up happening.
Federal Election Commission (FEC) records show Clark made thousands of donations including as recently as in June 2024. According to his grandson Colin, who shared the data with Al Jazeera, these were made without his grandfather’s knowledge.
“They [WinRed] would come in and take $20 here and there but …