Is Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia the Beneficiary of 'Smurfing' Exercises in Reelection Bid?
Potential Democrat presidential contender pulls in astonishing sum of unitemized donations.
Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) has raised a substantial amount of unitemized donations in the run-up to his reelection bid on Tuesday, according to campaign finance figures.
This matters because Ossoff is now benefiting from tens of millions of dollars in donations that could be tied to illegal "smurfing" schemes. Smurfing occurs when the names and identities of individuals are used without their consent or permission to make donations. The ActBlue network, founded in 2009 for the benefit of the Democratic Party, Democratic candidates, and left-wing causes, has repeatedly come under congressional scrutiny for alleged smurfing exercises. ActBlue includes a political action committee, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit called ActBlue Charities, and a 501(c)(4) nonprofit called ActBlue Civics. Restoration News has reported extensively on ActBlue’s suspected smurfing activities in key swing states.
But since ActBlue typically itemizes all contributions, it would seem the left-wing donor machine is not the source of the donations to Ossoff. Under Federal Election Commission (FEC) rules, individual donations of $200 or less in an election cycle are unitemized. Campaigns do not list a name, address, employer, and occupation for these small donors. Instead, campaigns group receipts together and report an aggregate lump sum on financial disclosure forms.
Ossoff has raised about $102 million from individuals in the 2026 election cycle, but more than half of this amount is unitemized. Ossoff was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2021, defeating David Perdue, the incumbent Republican, in a runoff. Recent polls show Ossoff holding a solid lead over U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, his Republican opponent. Assuming he wins re-election, Ossoff is widely expected to make a presidential run. If so, his unitemized contributions and their relationship with potential smurfing could become a source of controversy.
Ossoff has received $55,343,417.20 in unitemized contributions and $46,885,098.11 in itemized contributions. No other U.S. Senate candidate in 2026 comes close to these amounts, with the exception of Democrat James Talarico in Texas. FEC figures show Talarico received $64,476,670.08 in itemized donations and $75,299,932.74 in unitemized donations.
Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running against Talarico for the open US Senate seat, has called for organized investigations into ActBlue. In 2024, Paxton petitioned the FEC "to close loopholes that jeopardize American election integrity" after finding that ActBlue could serve as a conduit for making illegal campaign donations.
Polls show the Texas U.S. Senate race to be neck-and-neck and much more competitive than Georgia, where Ossoff is heavily favored.
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