Minnesota U.S. Senate candidate Royce White defends the campaign finance reports he filed that show more than $1 million of donor money went to “credit card fees,” which is nearly 70% of his $1.43 million in operating expenses in the 2024 campaign against Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar.

When asked to explain the high credit card fees, White said he isn’t happy about it. “Well, yea, since the beginning of my time in politics, I’ve actually been very critical and outspoken about the way money is raised in politics,” he told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS in an interview Monday.

Most of White’s credit card fees went to “WinRed Technical Services,” which is based in Arlington, Va.

The firm’s website proclaims, “WinRed is the #1 fundraising technology used by conservatives. Donors from across the country can easily connect with causes and candidates that they support.” It is used by many Republican candidates across the country, including members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation.

White claims the people who “bundle” his donations keep 85% of the money donated to his campaign and he gets the remaining 15%.

He doesn’t say who these people are, but presumably, he’s talking about WinRed. A check of WinRed’s pricing structure on its website says they usually charge between 3% and 4%. “WinRed charges a very low 3.2% on high-dollar gifts, and 3.94% on other donations to cover the cost of the credit card processing fees & interchange fees as well as all the powerful features we offer that allow you to raise more on WinRed than any other platform out there,” the website states. “For a $100 donation with a processing fee of 3.94%, $96.06 goes to the candidate or organization.”

When asked if his donor would be okay knowing 85% of their donations go to credit card processing fees along with nearly 70% of his total campaign operating expenses, he said this: “No, here’s the deal. What I’m okay with donors knowing is that this is the standard, whether you say it or not. At least the way it was communicated to me.”

“I think it’s impossible for credit card processing fees to be 70% of your campaign finance budget,” says Carleton College political analyst Steven Schier. “My understanding of credit card processing fees is that they are usually three percent of a transaction. Now, how three percent of a transaction aggregated could add up to 70 percent of total campaign expenditures is inexplicable. It’s really impossible for a credit card processing company to be charging fees that Royce White suggests they are charging.”

Many of the biggest credit card fees paid by White came in mid-October, just weeks before the 2024 election. There was a charge of $123,742 on October 16, $53,572 on October 17 and $260,766 on October 24. White told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS some days there were “big swarms” of Republican donations that could account for those fees.

Schier is skeptical of the accounting. “How does one have $260,000 in credit card processing fees in one day?” he says. “ It’s inexplicable, it’s impossible, could not happen. So where did that money go and what is the proper accounting of it?”

The questions about White’s fundraising are similar to a campaign finance complaint filed against former Florida Congressman and failed attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz last November. The Campaign Legal Center of Washington, DC, filed the complaint after noticing very high credit card fees paid to a company called “Stripe.”

“Friends of Matt Gaetz reported spending an implausible amount — over $1.2 million — on ‘e-merchant fees’ through Stripe,” the CLC said in a news release posted on its website. “This amount is far more than what any other political committee — including the two major national party committees, the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Democratic National Committee (DNC), each of which raised hundreds of millions of dollars from millions of contributors across the country — paid Stripe during the 2024 election.”

Schier says the Gaetz and White campaign finance reports have a lot of similarities, although Gaetz raised much more than White, $6.5 million compared to $1.6 million, and the Gaetz fees represented about one of every six dollars he spent. White’s fees are purported to be nearly seven of every 10 dollars he spent.

“So the question is if it’s not for credit card processing, where did the money go, and what is the proper accounting of it?” Schier says of the White and Gaetz reports.

White dismisses most of the questions we raised. “You think this is like a ‘gotcha moment.’ I’m telling you, I just explained it.”

White’s campaign report also includes thousands of dollars in expenses incurred long after he lost the 2024 election to Klobuchar on Nov. 5, including several charges at Enterprise Rent-A-Car in November and December. His report shows a half dozen car rentals totaling $9,311.87 between November 7, two days after the election, through Dec. 27, two days after Christmas.

When asked about the rental car charges, he said he couldn’t recall, but they might have been for vehicles to pull his campaign sign on a trailer. He could not explain why the charges were in Missouri.

White faced a campaign finance complaint last year regarding expenses listed on his 2022 report for the 5th District congressional race, including questions about thousands of dollars in spending at a strip club, resorts, car services and clothing. That FEC complaint still hasn’t been resolved.

White has announced he’s running again in 2026 for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Democratic Senator Tina Smith. Smith is not seeking re-election.

The full interview with White can be viewed HERE or in the video player below.