Google Lets Campaigns Bypass Gmail Spam Filters for 2026 Fundraising as Republicans Pressed Bias Claims
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 18
Google Lets Campaigns Bypass Gmail Spam Filters for 2026 Fundraising as Republicans Pressed Bias Claims
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 18
Summary
Google on Monday quietly launched a program letting candidates, parties and PACs route more fundraising emails past Gmail’s spam filter and into users’ inboxes.
The change follows years of Republican complaints that Gmail unfairly flagged their committees’ messages more often than Democrats’—claims that were later dismissed in court.
Google posted the update in its Help Center and began contacting some political committees in both parties the same day, according to people briefed on the outreach.
Strategists in both parties said the policy could materially boost fundraising in the final stretch before the 2026 midterms, while exposing Gmail users to a heavier wave of donation appeals.