Representative Mike Collins (R-Ga.), who is now running for the U.S. Senate, allegedly spent $400,000 in taxpayer funds to produce ads about himself this spring, according to reporting by the newsletter Popular Information.
Those ads bore a striking resemblance to campaign ads his Senate campaign released weeks later.
That’s likely not a coincidence. The two ad campaigns were produced by the same company, Smart Media Group. Collins used congressional funds to pay the company in March. His Senate campaign paid Smart Media Group again in May.
The March payment was the largest single advertising expenditure by any House member since 2020, according to an analysis by Popular Information, which reviewed spending records. The finding means that Georgia taxpayers financed what appears to be the most expensive ad buy in recent House history.
Members of Congress are permitted to use official funds for what is known as “mass communications” with constituents—updates, for instance, on enrolling in health coverage or tax relief programs.
But House rules governing that spending are explicit. The money “should not be used for political or personal business,” and any taxpayer-funded communication must contain “no campaign content” and “no content laudatory of a Member on a personal or political basis.”
Video from the taxpayer-funded ad and the campaign ad that followed show similar pacing and messaging. Both include the same quotes from President Donald Trump.
It is not the first time Collins’ handling of public money has come under scrutiny. The House Ethics Committee is reviewing a separate complaint alleging his congressional office paid more than $10,000 to the girlfriend of a former staff member, despite claims she performed no work for the office. Collins has called the allegations a “nothing burger.”
Collins, who has represented Georgia’s 10th District since 2023, is the Republican nominee for the Senate seat held by Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) after winning a runoff earlier this year. The race is considered one of the most competitive in the country, with Georgia a top Republican target in a state President Trump carried in 2024.
The scrutiny over Collins’ ad spending echoes a controversy that led to the ouster of Kristi Noem as secretary of homeland security. Noem oversaw more than $200 million in taxpayer-funded advertising that prominently featured her, including footage of her on horseback along the southern border. The spending drew criticism from lawmakers in both parties before President Trump removed her from the role.
Collins has not responded publicly to the allegations.
