The watchdog group’s complaint alleges that more than 150 pieces of online content constitute political ads in support of the Let’s Go Washington initiative.
SEATTLE — Washington campaign finance regulators have accused Let’s Go Washington of failing to disclose political ads by Brandi Kruse related to two 2026 ballot initiatives. According to the complaint Filing with the state Public Disclosure Commission.
The group Ethical Government in Washington said it filed a complaint on Tuesday asking the PDC to investigate whether Let’s Go Washington violated state campaign finance and disclosure laws.
The complaint focuses on at least 159 instances of online content that the group says amounts to political advertising in support of Let’s Go Washington’s 2026 initiative, which it identified as IL26-638 and IL26-001. The content appeared on Kruse’s platform between September 2025 and February 2026 but was not reported as fees or in-kind donations, the complaint alleges.
Every Washington State House of Representatives RepublicansIL26-638 centers on “Protecting Girls’ Sports” and is designed to “preserve opportunities for biological female students to participate in girls’ sports.” According to BallotpediaIL26-001 “Concerned about the rights of parents with children enrolled in public schools.”
The group estimates the value of the controversial posts, podcast segments and other online promotions at between $345,900 and $1.25 million.
The complaint also alleges that Let’s Go Washington failed to report at least two in-kind contributions related to Cruz’s attendance at political rallies, including a Let’s Go Washington political event on February 3 and another Let’s Go Washington political event on October 4, 2025.
Ethical Government Washington is demanding an investigation into Brian Haywood’s Let’s Go to Washington group because of its blatant disregard for state laws designed to provide transparency and build trust in our political system, Pam Stuart, the group’s communications liaison, said in a statement.
The complaint alleges that Cruise’s content urged people to sign initiative petitions, promoted support for the measures and criticized groups that opposed the initiatives.
It also said Cruz should not be exempt from state political advertising rules because she sells ads on her platform and has more than 800,000 followers across multiple platforms.
Cruise denied the accusation in a statement:
“I have never received funds or contributions of any kind (undisclosed, unreported, or otherwise) from Let’s Go Washington. Therefore, the assertion that I violated state disclosure laws is false and defamatory as a matter of fact, and further ignores that state law clearly states that political commentary and editorials do not constitute political advertising. See RCW 29B.10.160(2)(d); WAC 390-05-290(3). This false information therefore appears to be made purely to damage my reputation and I request an immediate correction or clarification in accordance with RCW 7.96.040.”
The complaint also states Previous PDC cases involving Let’s Go Washington. The commission fined the political action committee $20,000, half of which was suspended in some cases, after the Let’s Go to Washington committee was found to have violated Washington state campaign finance laws.
In this case, Let’s Go to Washington representatives argued the charges should be dismissed and said the committee complied with the law in reporting expenditures and keeping records.
PDC staff have 90 days to review new complaints and decide whether to investigate further.
If staff takes action, the case will go before the committee for a hearing.
