BREAKING: Republican EXPOSED For Using TAXPAYER FUNDS On His Campaign
Georgia Congressman Mike Collins is running for the U.S. Senate. He also has access to taxpayer-funded office expenses. He allegedly has decided to use one to pay for the other.
Collins spent over $400,000 in taxpayer money on TV ads that are virtually indistinguishable from his campaign ads, paid for using the same political firm that makes his campaign ads, and ran them right up to the legal deadline before his primary.
That is not a technicality. That is a scheme.
What He Did
Collins paid for the ads using funds provided for the operation of his congressional office. House rules allow such funds to be used for communications to constituents, but the House Communications Standards Manual is clear: those communications “should not be used for political or personal business.” No campaign content. No material that praises a member on a personal or political basis.
Here is what Collins’ taxpayer-funded ad actually says.
Trump’s voice opens the spot: “Congressman Mike Collins. Mike, you were fantastic.” A narrator then tells viewers that “Mike Collins is protecting Georgia by working with President Trump to pass the Laken Riley Act.” The ad closes with Trump again. “He loves this state and he took this very personally. Thank you, Mike.” The only sign that this is not a campaign ad appears in small print for four seconds at the bottom of the screen: “PAID FOR WITH OFFICIAL FUNDS BY THE OFFICE OF MIKE COLLINS.”
No campaign content. No content praising a member on a personal or political basis.
He ran Trump praising him. For 30 seconds. On your dime.
His Campaign Was Running the Exact Same Ad
This is where it gets worse.
Collins’ Senate campaign is currently running an ad that is substantively identical. Both ads use the exact same Trump quote. Both use the same footage. In the taxpayer-funded version, a narrator says Collins is “protecting Georgia by working with President Trump to pass the Laken Riley Act.” In the campaign version, Collins says he “wrote the Laken Riley Act to protect Georgia families.”
Two ads. Same quote. Same footage. Same message. One paid for by taxpayers. One paid for by donors.
The Same Firm Made Both Ads
Both ads appear to have been created by the same political ad firm, Smart Media Group. On its website, Smart Media Group says it “powers winning campaigns” and is “trusted by all the top Republican committees.” The firm says it leverages data to produce ads that “help campaigns win elections.” The House Communications Standards Manual also prohibits the use of content developed using campaign resources in official communications.
Collins used a firm that exists to win elections. He used it to make ads. He paid for those ads with taxpayer money. And he paid the same firm with campaign money on the same timeline.
According to the House Statement of Disbursements, Collins’ House office paid Smart Media Group over $400,000 between October 2025 and March 2026, including a single payment of $307,160 on March 16, 2026. Then on May 1, 2026, his Senate campaign paid Smart Media Group $400,910 for an ad buy.
One firm. Two clients. One of those clients is the American taxpayer.
How Far Outside the Norm This Is
Over that same six-month period, the average congressional office spent about $33,000 on all mass communications combined. A Popular Information review of spending by every House member from 2020 to the present found that Collins’ $307,160 payment to Smart Media was the single largest recorded payment for advertising by any member in that entire period.
The average member spent $33,000. Collins spent $400,000. To the same firm making his campaign ads. While running for Senate.
The Timing Was Not an Accident
House rules prohibit taxpayer-funded mass communications within 60 days of an election. Collins’ ads ran through March 18, 2026, right before that cutoff ahead of the May 19 Georgia primary.
He ran the ads until the last legal day he could. Then he stopped. Then his campaign ran the same ad.
Nobody Stopped Him
All unsolicited mass communications must receive an advisory opinion from the House Communications Standards Commission. Collins’ ads were approved. But the approval process is a rubber stamp handled by commission staff. There is no public record of any communication ever being rejected or even elevated to the six-member commission for a vote.
The oversight body approved it. The oversight body has never rejected anything. Ever.
Collins’ office did not respond to a request for comment.
The Bottom Line
Mike Collins is the Republican nominee for one of the most competitive Senate seats in the country. He is running against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff in Georgia.
To get there, he spent $400,000 in taxpayer money on campaign-style ads, made by his campaign’s own ad firm, featuring the President of the United States praising him by name, right up until the day the law said he had to stop.
If Collins defeats Ossoff in November, he will have to change his conduct. The Senate has no framework allowing office funds to be used for television ads.
So he used the loophole while he had it. Taxpayers funded his primary campaign. Nobody stopped him.
Georgia voters deserve to know that before November.