Dr. Dale Deas Files Federal Election Commission Complaint Against Senate Candidate Jared Hudson, Citing Questions About Campaign Finance Practices and "Grassroots" Fundraising Claims

March 13, 2026

Editor's Note: Complaint Details Coordinated $84,000 from Billionaire Anderson Family, Wall Street Contributions, and Systematic Use of Runoff Designations Before Any Primary Has Occurred

HOOVER, Ala. — Dr. Dale Shelton Deas, Jr., MD, Republican candidate for the United States Senate in Alabama, has filed a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against fellow candidate Jared Hudson and his principal campaign committee, Hudson for Alabama (FEC Committee ID: C00906453).

The complaint, filed pursuant to 52 U.S.C. § 30109(a)(1), raises serious questions about Hudson's campaign finance practices,  specifically, a pattern of soliciting maximum contributions and immediately redesignating portions to a runoff election that has not been called, may never occur, and appears to have been used to inflate the campaign's reported fundraising totals and cash-on-hand.

"Jared Hudson has built his campaign around the word 'grassroots,'" said Dr. Deas. "But his own FEC filings raise real questions about whether that label matches reality. Alabama voters deserve to see these records and decide for themselves."

THE PRACTICE IN QUESTION

Under federal law, an individual may contribute up to $3,500 per election to a federal candidate, separately for a primary, general, and runoff, for a theoretical maximum of $10,500 across all three. The FEC's redesignation process exists as a remedial tool: if a donor accidentally exceeds the limit for one election, the campaign can redirect the excess to a different election.

According to the complaint, Hudson for Alabama appears to have used this process not as a correction, but as a solicitation strategy, accepting contributions at the full $10,500 level and immediately splitting each one into three equal $3,500 portions designated to the primary, general, and runoff on the same day each contribution was received.

The Alabama Republican primary is scheduled for May 19, 2026. As of the dates these contributions were made, no primary had been held, no runoff had been triggered, and no runoff was certain to occur. The $3,500 per contributor designated to a runoff remains in Hudson's campaign account, boosting his reported cash-on-hand and total fundraising figures.

THE CONTRIBUTORS

The Anderson Family — $84,000 on a Single Day

On September 30, 2025, eight members of the Anderson family each contributed $10,500 to Hudson for Alabama, all on the same date, for the same amount:

• Charles C. Anderson Sr. (Transaction ID: SA11A.3474)

• Susan T. Anderson (SA11A.3470)

• Terry Anderson (SA11A.3488)

• Amber Anderson (SA11A.3498)

• Molly R. Anderson

• Harold Anderson

• Charles Anderson Jr.

• Clyde Anderson

Total: $84,000 in a single day. Each contribution was immediately redesignated on that same date, with $28,000 of the total directed to the non-existent runoff.

The Anderson family controls Books-A-Million, TNT Fireworks, and Anderson Media. Their investment firm, Anderson Growth Partners, manages approximately $919.5 million in assets, including a China-focused hedge fund (AGP First China, LLC) and over $228 million in BDT Capital Partners private equity. These are among the wealthiest families in Alabama, not the small-dollar grassroots donors Hudson's campaign describes.

Jimmy Dunne III — Wall Street, Palm Beach

On June 19, 2025, Jimmy Dunne III, Vice Chairman of Piper Sandler and a member of AIG's Board of Directors, contributed $10,500 from North Palm Beach, Florida (Transaction ID: SA11A.199). The contribution was redesignated on the same day: $3,500 to the runoff (SA11A.336) and $3,500 to the general (SA11A.338). Dunne was the principal architect of the PGA Tour–LIV Golf merger, negotiating directly with Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.

Tom Werner — Chairman of the Boston Red Sox, Pacific Palisades

On June 30, 2025, Tom Werner, Chairman of the Boston Red Sox and co-owner of Liverpool FC, contributed $7,000 from Pacific Palisades, California (Transaction ID: SA11A.474). On August 29, $3,500 was redesignated to the runoff (SA11A.2588).

WHERE THE MONEY GOES: HUDSON'S CONSULTANT NETWORK

The complaint also notes that more than 55% of Hudson's campaign spending has gone to out-of-state firms with deep ties to Alabama's existing political establishment:

• FP1 Strategies (~$68,500): A Virginia-based firm owned by Omnicom, one of the world's largest advertising conglomerates. FP1 served as the media and digital firm for Senator Katie Britt's 2022 campaign and won Pollie Awards for its work on that race. Hudson's campaign is using the same firm and the same infrastructure.

• Michael Gordon (~$41,400, political strategy): A Washington, D.C. operative who previously worked on Senator Tommy Tuberville's campaign.

• Holtzman Vogel (~$26,104): A Washington, D.C. campaign law firm widely regarded as a central node in Republican establishment campaign operations nationwide.

• Chain Bridge Bank, McLean, Virginia: Hudson's campaign banks at a one-branch Virginia institution that has served every Republican presidential nominee since John McCain.

The pattern is clear: the same consultants, the same playbook, and the same donor networks that produced Alabama's current Senate delegation are now behind Jared Hudson's campaign.

DR. DEAS: "LET THE VOTERS SEE THE RECORDS"

Dr. Deas, a cardiac surgeon and biomedical engineer, entered the Senate race on a platform of fighting corruption and government accountability.

"I am not making accusations I can't support," said Dr. Deas. "Every transaction ID in this complaint is publicly available at FEC.gov under 'HUDSON FOR ALABAMA.' I filed this complaint because Alabama voters have a right to know how the candidates asking for their vote are funding their campaigns and where that money is really coming from."

"When out-of-state billionaires, Wall Street executives, and a near-billion-dollar investment dynasty with a China hedge fund are writing maximum checks to a candidate who calls himself grassroots, voters deserve to know. And when more than half of that candidate's spending flows to the same Washington and Virginia firms that built our current senators' campaigns, voters should ask whether they're getting something new, or the same establishment with a different face."

COMPLAINT DETAILS

The FEC complaint was filed on March 12, 2026, and raises questions under:

• 52 U.S.C. § 30116(a)(1)(A) — Individual contribution limits per election

• 11 C.F.R. § 110.1(b)(5) — Use of the contribution redesignation process

• 52 U.S.C. § 30104 — Campaign finance disclosure requirements

The complaint names Hudson for Alabama, Lori Beth Raymond (committee treasurer), and Jared Hudson (candidate) as respondents and requests a full FEC investigation.

Every FEC filing referenced in this complaint is publicly available at FEC.gov. Dr. Deas encourages Alabama voters to review the records directly.

The full complaint and all cited FEC transaction IDs are available upon request.