A series of donations totaling $8 million from Reid Hoffman to Wisconsin’s Democratic Party has become a campaign issue, as Republican Tom Tiffany’s campaign attacks nominee David Crowley over Hoffman’s past contacts with Jeffrey Epstein.
Wisconsin Ethics Commission campaign finance records list $2 million from Hoffman on Sept. 24, $3.5 million across Oct. 2 and Oct. 5, and $2.5 million on Oct. 20. The contributions went to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, rather than directly to Crowley’s campaign committee.
The commission sets a $20,000 limit on individual direct contributions to a gubernatorial candidate committee. It does not cap individual contributions to party committees, and party committees may make unlimited contributions to candidate committees. The records also show separate transfers from the party to Crowley’s campaign, but do not connect a particular Hoffman donation to a specific transfer.
Tiffany’s campaign said it released a digital ad titled “Epstein, Crowley, Billionaires” on Oct. 28. In its Oct. 28 release announcing the ad, Tiffany’s campaign described Crowley as “bought and paid for by the Epstein class.” That is the campaign’s accusation.
Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to felony solicitation of prostitution and procuring minors to engage in prostitution, according to a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) review.
In a 2019 email published by Axios, Hoffman said his contacts with Epstein related to fundraising for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab and that his last interaction with Epstein was in 2015. Hoffman expressed regret over participating in fundraising activity where Epstein was present, writing, “For this, I am deeply regretful.”
Hoffman later said that timeline was wrong. In a February 2026 post on X, he said calendar entries showed additional fundraising meetings in 2016 and 2018.
