Registry members say Congresswoman Harshbarger’s treasurer should be subpoenaed

The Tennessee Registry of Election Finance. (Photo: John Partipilo)

At least two members of the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance think the man at the center of a campaign finance complaint over the 4th District Senate race in upper East Tennessee should be subpoenaed to testify about alleged “collusion” involving the campaign of Bobby Harshbarger.

Registry members Tom Lawless and Paige Burcham Dennis said Tuesday they believe the Registry should force Thomas Datwyler, treasurer for the East Tennessee Conservatives PAC and Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger’s campaign, to answer questions and provide financial information dealing with the campaign of Harshbarger’s son, Bobby, who defeated Sen. Jon Lundberg in the Republican primary after two groups poured $600,000 worth of dark money into the race.

Lawless and Burcham Dennis also said the Attorney General’s Office should interview Congresswoman Harshbarger about “collusion” allegations. The report contained no mention of the AG’s Office speaking with Congresswoman Harshbarger, a Kingsport Republican.

Members of the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance say U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-TN 2, should be subpoenaed to investigate her role in coordination between a political action committee and her son Bobby Harshbarger’s state senate campaign.(Photo: U.S. House of Representatives)

“I’m disappointed they didn’t reach out to her,” Burcham Dennis said, noting she feels it is a “necessity” for investigators to speak with the congresswoman to provide a “thorough” report to the board.

Sen. Ken Yager, chairman of the Senate Republican Caucus, filed a sworn complaint this year with the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance, citing the potential for illegal “collusion” between the two Harshbarger campaigns and the PAC since two of the groups shared a treasurer. Yager also said Harshbarger appeared to be “skirting” campaign finance laws.

Though the report was more in-depth than recent AG’s Office investigations requested by the Registry, Lawless said he is not satisfied. He also believes illegal coordination took place between the East Tennessee Conservatives PAC and the campaigns of Congresswoman Harshbarger and her son, Bobby. Yet he doesn’t believe the Registry will push the matter.

“I don’t think there is any stomach in the Registry at the present time to do much in terms of fighting or cleaning it up,” Lawless said. “Do I think they want to? Yes. But do I think they will? No, because we haven’t got the people to do it, and the AG’s basically told us, ‘We’re not gonna do it.’”

Lawless noted that making a recommendation for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to look into the matter “will get you tarred and feathered.” He said recently the TBI should investigate the Tennessee Constitutional Republicans and Sumner County Constitutional Republicans to determine whether they are operating as political action committees.

The Registry has subpoena power, but a footnote in the report said the Attorney General’s Office, based on state law, couldn’t compel people to be interviewed or provide records.  

“The system’s not working the way it needs to on the dark money side, and I don’t know if we’ve got the tools to do anything for it,” Lawless said.

The AG’s Office investigations uncovered connections between Datwyler, a web of dark money groups and both Harshbarger campaigns, but couldn’t form a concrete outcome, mainly because Datwyler refused to be interviewed about his role.

Datwyler, the treasurer of East Tennessee Conservatives political action committee and Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger’s campaign, helped her son establish his campaign months before he defeated Lundberg in the Republican primary, the state Attorney General’s Office report shows. The PAC is made up of two people, Datwyler and Robert Phillips III.

Datwyler corresponded with Bobby Harshbarger between April 11-12, sending him information about appointing a political treasurer, securing a tax number for a bank account and taking care of other financial details, in addition to setting up a WinRed fundraising account for which he provided user names, according to the AG’s Office report. Harshbarger, a Bristol pharmacist, was introduced to Datwyler via email by Zac Rutherford, chief of staff for his mother’s congressional office.

The Tennessee Journal initially reported on the AG’s report. The matter might not be taken up until the Registry board’s first meeting in January. It’s unclear whether the board will meet in November, as scheduled.

The report wouldn’t have any impact on the election results but could lead to a civil penalty if the board found the three groups coordinated illegally.

None of the emails between Datwyler and Harshbarger dealing with those details discussed the political action committee, which poured more than $600,000 into Harshbarger’s campaign. The PAC spent heavily on campaign mailers accusing Lundberg of being too liberal, in addition to sending out text messages opposing the Bristol Republican who chairs the Senate Education Committee.

Likewise, Harshbarger told investigators that Datwyler only assisted him with initial compliance, and he denied any connection with the PAC or knowledge of its opposition to Lundberg. Harshbarger said he wasn’t familiar with the American Policy Coalition, a dark money group run by Datwyler that funded the East Tennessee Conservatives PAC or a connection to his mother. He told investigators his campaign was mainly self-funded and that most donations came from individuals. He denied any attempts to go around campaign finance laws.

Datwyler, who is believed to be based in Wisconsin, refused to be interviewed by the Attorney General’s Office investigator. His attorney, Eric Brown, requested an extension for an interview, then declined the interview and state’s document requests, saying “the necessity for any further response and interviews is obviated” and there is no need to schedule them because of “perceived insufficiency” of Yager’s complaint.

He has refused multiple requests by the Tennessee Lookout for comment on campaign finance questions. 

It did determine, though, that he was treasurer and officer of East Tennessee Conservatives PAC, president of 9Seven Consulting, which was bought by Axiom Strategies in September 2022, is part of the Axiom Strategies “family,” and CEO of AxCapital.

Datwyler’s attorney, Brown, the lawyer for Axiom Strategies, responded to questions Tuesday, saying, “News reports confirm that the AG report found no factual or legal basis to support the allegations of improper coordination and the complaint in this matter should be quickly dismissed.”

The report found Datwyler ran the PAC that distributed text messages and print mailers opposing Lundberg, provided services to Harshbarger in April 2024 after being introduced by Congresswoman Harshbarger’s chief of staff and received payment for the election work from other groups he ran.

Datwyler is treasurer for Washington, D.C.-based Great American Coalition, which reported $1.78 million in income in 2021 and expenses totaling nearly $600,000, including $460,000 in grants. The Tennessee Journal reported that Tennessee political operative Steve Gill was the group’s secretary three years ago.

He is also treasurer for U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles of Culleoka, who is under investigation by the FBI for potential campaign finance violations. Agents seized Ogles’ cell phone this summer.

East Tennessee Conservatives PAC, which spent heavily against Lundberg this year, received $95,000 from the American Policy Coalition last year and another $520,000 from the Great American Coalition this year. The Attorney General’s Office was unable to contact the latter group, an Alexandria, Virginia-based entity, which was identified as a 501(c)4 organization.

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The group’s address was listed as 3301 Richmond Highway, which turned out to be a Staples Office post office box. The store declined to release the renter’s name.

The Attorney General’s Office couldn’t’ find “sufficient evidence” to determine Datwyler’s role when the campaign events took place. It did determine, though, that he was treasurer and officer of East Tennessee Conservatives PAC, president of 9Seven Consulting, which was bought by Axiom Strategies in September 2022, is part of the Axiom Strategies “family,” and CEO of AxCapital. The investigation connected them through Datwyler’s address, P.O. Box 183, Hudson, Wisconsin, 54016, the address for Congresswoman Harshbarger’s FEC filings, the same address for East Tennessee Conservatives and for 9Seven Consulting. Datwyler also is affiliated with Invest in Mississippi.

The investigation found that Datwyler and Phillips created the East Tennessee Conservatives PAC and paid themselves for work done on its behalf.

Axiom Strategies is located at 800 West 47th Street, Suite 200 Kansas City, Missouri, but it also advertises an office in Hudson, Wisconsin. East Tennessee Conservatives PAC paid $3,376 in consulting fees to Axiom Strategies or AxCapital LLC is located at the same Kansas City address, the report found.

The East Tennessee Conservatives PAC spent $87,631 after April 11 and disclosed payments to three organizations for consulting, printing and advertising, CVIC, Cannon Research Group and Axiom Strategies, all three of which operate at the Kansas City address. The Attorney General’s Office concluded the PAC paid AxCapital or Axiom to produce and send campaign texts and materials attacking Lundberg.

Harshbarger acknowledged receiving an invoice from AxMedia, but he told investigators he wasn’t familiar with Axiom Strategies or American Policy Coalition and said he was “unsure” whether he had heard of AxCapital or AxCapital LLC.