Caitlyn Jenner is using a campaign fundraising trick from Trump's playbook that commits donors to recurring payments
- Donors to Trump's election campaign were hit with pre-checked recurring monthly donations.
- Election officials have denounced the campaign tactic.
- The tactic is now being used by the California gubernatorial candidates Caitlyn Jenner and Doug Ose.
Caitlyn Jenner, a gubernatorial candidate in California's recall election, is using a campaign fundraising trick from former President Donald Trump's playbook that commits donors to recurring payments, Politico reported.
Both Jenner and former Rep. Doug Ose, who are running as Republicans against Gov. Gavin Newsom, have pre-checked boxes on their donation pages that sign contributors to make monthly payments to their campaigns.
A New York Times investigation found that Trump used a tactic in which recurring-donation boxes were pre-checked at the bottom of fundraising emails. Contributors had to opt out, instead of opting in, for the recurring charges.
Insider's Grace Panetta reported that the Times report left campaign-finance experts stunned.
While it's unclear whether the tactic is illegal, Politico noted that federal election officials had condemned it.
The strategy has been criticized as essentially tricking donors who do not read the fine print.
The Federal Election Commission recently asked Congress to make it law that campaigns had to get "opt-in" agreements from contributors before they could make monthly donations. The commission said many donors did not realize when recurring-charge boxes were pre-checked, Politico reported.
Politico also reported that Newsom's 2022 campaign had a recurring-monthly-payment box pre-checked as recently as this month that was removed before the outlet asked about it.
Jenner is running on a platform of business experience and has said her experience in business makes her qualified to be governor.
"I have been in the entrepreneurial world," she said. "People think - you've been in show business, think of you as a reality star. Certainly, I've done that, but entertainment is a business, and you have to run that business."
The former athlete and reality-television star has voted in only about a third of the elections in which she was eligible since 2000.