Axiom Strategies Caught Triple-Dipping in GA-03 Race
Axiom and its affiliated companies are breaking boundaries, but experts warn they could find themselves in hot water.
The political mega-firm known as Axiom Strategies has been known to push the boundaries of what is ethical when it comes to political campaigning, but have they gone too far?
Most recently, Axiom was in the headlines for blurring the lines between campaign and Super PAC coordination. With Axiom CEO Jeff Roe on the side of Never Back Down (the infamous Desantis Super PAC) and Axiom President David Polyansky on the failed campaign side, many openly questioned how this kind of setup would meet strict legal standards set forth by the Federal Election Commission, leading to a complaint being filed alleging illegal coordination.
Now, Axiom faces new ethical questions after campaign finance reports filed with the FEC show they are providing consulting services to three competing campaigns in Georgia’s Third Congressional District race. According to industry experts, this type of practice is considered out-of-bounds within the political world. We spoke to sources with six political agencies that said they have never, and would never, accept competing clients in the way Axiom appears to be doing.
Many of those same sources say this news comes as no surprise, as Axiom has a notorious reputation among political insiders for being shameless in their pursuit of profits. Internal documents obtained from an Axiom insider show their number one goal is to be the first billion-dollar business in politics. These same sources say Axiom employees are encouraged to pursue that goal above all others. Their network of consultants are relentlessly pressured to sign up clients at all costs, even if that means breaking industry norms and pushing ethical boundaries.
A report from The Washington Post last year detailed Axiom’s internal finances. In it, Axiom revealed to investors that their public declarations and marketing materials do not match up with reality. The Post report details a wildly exaggerated win-record, with only one third of Axiom’s federal clients winning their campaigns. It also reveals other blatant misrepresentations about their revenue, employee count, and company structure.
Regardless, Axiom continues to rack up clients, including three competing campaigns in Georgia’s Third Congressional District Republican Primary. Public records show Mike Crane, Phillip Singleton, and Jim Bennett have all contracted with Axiom and their affiliated companies to run their campaigns. But it is unclear whether these candidates actually know this thanks to a shady network of companies Axiom has set up or acquired in recent years.
Reports we reviewed show that Phillip Singleton has contracted with at least three Axiom-related companies: Fundraising Inc, AxCapital, and WPA Intelligence. Fundraising Inc and AxCapital are publicly acknowledged Axiom-related entities while WPA is a subsidiary owned by Axiom’s parent company, Garrison Management Group. A source within WPA, which spoke to us on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that WPA’s billing, payroll, and employees are all part of Axiom proper.
Mike Crane has also hired multiple Axiom organizations to help run his campaign, but this fact has been hidden with the use of a shell company in an apparent attempt to hide the end recipients of Crane’s campaign cash. Crane’s report lists Imperial Independent Media, an Alaska-based firm owned by Zachary Freeman, as his campaign consultant. But records with Alaska’s Secretary of State show that Imperial Independent Media is currently in non-compliance and has not filed the proper paperwork to operate a business since 2021. Our sources tell us that Imperial is being used as a front for three Axiom affiliated companies. These include Axiom Strategies and two companies wholly owned by Axiom: The Political Firm, based in Louisiana, and The Stoneridge Group, an Alpharetta-based company. We were able to confirm this information based on internal documents provided to us by sources within the company.
This raises ethical and potential legal problems for Crane’s campaign. Federal election laws require campaigns to accurately report itemized disbursements with the intention of the end-recipient being disclosed publicly. An election law expert we consulted tells us the use of shell companies to hide expenses could result in serious fines for candidates and does not meet the legal requirements campaigns are subject to. With the use of a pass-through company, Crane and Axiom appear to be hiding their relationship. Sources we spoke to were unsure why this kind of arrangement would have been set up with the campaign, but acknowledge it is highly unusual and raises more questions about Axiom’s ethical practices.
A source within one of the campaigns that has not hired Axiom for the GA-3 race speculated the use of a shell company is an effort to protect Crane from being attacked as anti-Trump. Trump and his allies have publicly called for Axiom employees to be blacklisted from top political jobs after Axiom’s Jeff Roe publicly feuded with Trump, and Never Back Down unleashed $100 million in negative ads against Trump in the primary. The use of shell companies may simply be an effort to hide Crane’s relationship to the same team that tried to take down the most popular figure in the Republican Party, a fact that could hurt his reputation in a competitive Republican primary.
Others close to the race have speculated the shell game is part of a broader, more sinister plot to secretly help one of the campaigns with intelligence on their opponents. While Axiom’s network of companies is set up to appear as though there are separate entities operating independently, that is not actually the case. Another source we spoke to within an Axiom subsidiary showed us internal documents and databases that are shared among each of it’s entities. This includes accounting software and cloud databases that house candidate materials such as campaign budgets, digital and print ads, videos, and campaign donor information. We had the opportunity to review a trove of videos, digital ads, emails, and fundraising materials for Crane, Singleton and Bennett that have not appeared publicly. We reviewed internal documents that show one campaign has spent nearly $90,000 with Axiom affiliated companies, more than the other two campaigns combined. Experts say the potential to have an inside track on attack ads, budgets, and strategy of an opposing campaign is unheard of and puts the campaigns and Axiom at major risk of exposure.
Our broader investigation has uncovered multiple instances of Axiom double-dipping in competing federal races in at least four other states. In future articles we will be releasing additional evidence that shows Axiom and it’s subsidiaries are engaging in this practice more commonly than previously known. This story is ongoing and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Have a story you think we should investigate? Drop us a line at our anonymous tipline: politicalbriefdc@proton.me.
Not sure what exactly this is...
I've known Mike for the last 13 years, I've worked with him and campaigned for and with him. If you guys actually wanted to go after him, go after him on merits. The problem is that.. you can't. He has a great track record, and Georgia's back, and the grassroots support him...
If Brian Jack or Mike Dugan, whichever candidate is paying for this sham "news site," really wants to attack Mike Crane, Phillip Singleton, or Jim Bennett (Three great patriots whom I've had the pleasure to meet), they should just come out and do it. At least admit this isn't actually news; this is just an attack ad.
Remove me from your email list, stop practicing dirty politics, and start confronting people to their face, not behind some sham site.
This piece doesn’t sound very truthful, not a lot of evidence for the claims