The Federal Election Commission flagged routine midyear financial reports from U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, former U.S. Rep. Mark Green, U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, and 7th Congressional District candidate Matt Van Epps in its round of September warning letters. Potential mistakes — including over-limit contributions (Van Epps, who is vying for Green’s seat), unauthorized committee transfers (Harshbarger) and misreporting a high-dollar corporate donor (Blackburn) — could draw campaign audits or fines if left unaddressed.
The race to replace U.S. Rep. Mark Green is crowded — and early voting in the primary begins Sept. 17
Candidates raising money in Congress submit regular reports to the FEC detailing money received and spent. Money solicited or spent associated with public office presents the obvious potential for misuse, and for more than 50 years, the Federal Election Campaign Act — enforced by the FEC — has dictated the legal guardrails for public officials’ finances.
The three top GOP officials — as well as candidate Van Epps, Green’s preferred successor in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District — received letters in mid-September from FEC analysts flagging reporting mistakes and threatening additional action.
A Sept. 15 warning letter states that Harshbarger, a third-term Freedom Caucus member representing East Tennessee’s 1st Congressional District, may have funneled more than $6,600 through an unauthorized committee, GOP Winning Women 2026. Candidates must authorize committees in order to engage in joint fundraising. The warning letter was addressed to Harshbarger’s treasurer Thomas Datwyler, a Wisconsin political consultant with a history of FEC fines and violations.
Datwyler served as U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles’ campaign treasurer, and his financial reporting resulted in a $5,750 fine paid by the congressman in an FEC settlement. On Aug. 27, Datwyler opened a new super PAC, Citizens for a Conservative Tennessee, which appears to be tied to state Rep. Jody Barrett’s congressional campaign. (Barrett, like Van Epps, is running for the 7th Congressional District seat given up by Green this summer.)
Republican congressman agrees to fine and additional compliance measures following campaign finance dispute
Federal regulators tagged Green’s fundraising committee, the Green Victory Fund, for failure to refund nearly $60,000 in donations pledged toward his abandoned reelection campaign. Green treasurer Cabell Hobbs responded to the FEC’s request the next day, stating that these donors had been refunded after the June 30 reporting deadline. Green announced his retirement in early June, just six months into his term, and officially resigned on July 4. At least one of the listed donors confirms to the Scene that the Green campaign has refunded his check.
Congressional hopeful Van Epps flubbed his first quarterly report, exceeding individual contribution limits from Franklin residents Claire and Peter Bray. Again, Hobbs — also Van Epps’ treasurer — promptly promised the FEC he would redesignate the donations on Van Epps’ next report. Hobbs has served as treasurer for numerous GOP campaigns and committees, including John Bolton’s super PAC, the fundraising arm of the former Trump national security adviser that drew its own alleged FEC violations related to the campaign’s work with Cambridge Analytica.
Blackburn regularly takes big checks from corporate PACs and D.C.-based Leidos Holdings Inc., a multibillion-dollar defense contractor that’s sent at least $28,000 to the Tennessee Republican since 2019. A discrepancy between Leidos’ own reporting and Blackburn’s “Making A Responsible Stand for Households in America” PAC earned a Sept. 14 warning letter to Blackburn treasurer Les Williamson. The MARSHA PAC reported a $5,000 donation from Leidos in March, though the PAC hasn’t reported a donation to the MARSHA PAC since 2024. Williamson attributed the confusion to a mail-sorting issue in a Sept. 18 follow-up letter to the FEC.
