Gabe Evans spent big on taxpayer-funded "franking"
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U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans arrives for the House Republican Conference caucus meeting July 21. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
To promote his work in Congress, U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans spent more than $320,000 on taxpayer-funded advertising in his first term — steering more than $225,000 to his campaign consultant, an exclusive Axios analysis finds.
Why it matters: The radio, mail, web and text messages helped the 8th District Republican raise his name recognition ahead of his reelection bid this November and at times blurred the line between campaign-style messaging and official congressional communication.
State of play: Out of all House members, Evans ranked as the sixth-highest spender of taxpayer dollars on ads through late July. His total nearly topped the combined spending of Colorado's congressional delegation, public records show.
- Promotional messages — known as "franking" — from Evans' congressional office touted his votes for H.R. 1 and the Working Families Tax Cuts, as well as his support for immigration reform.
- He also targeted Spanish-speaking voters with a radio ad blitz.
The intrigue: Breakpoint Media, a political consulting firm, received more than $225,000 to produce digital and radio ads for Evans' office.
- The same firm received another $170,000 from Evans' campaign over the past two years.
How it works: All members of Congress get a taxpayer-funded communications budget, and Evans is using a significant share on his franking.
- The rules prohibit official communications from disparaging political parties or members, using laudatory language about a member or drawing on campaign resources.
- Biographical information and ideological criticism are permitted.
Between the lines: Evans' office typically included a pitch to sign up for his congressional email newsletter, reinforcing that the messages came from his official office.
- Staff at the bipartisan House Communication Standards Commission approved all of the messages as official.
Yes, but: Some of the language sounded more like campaign material to boost his profile.
- In text messages Axios reviewed, Evans bashed Democratic U.S. senators for shutting down the government in 2025.
- In another, he took a swipe at Democratic state leaders, calling Colorado "the second most dangerous state in the country."
- In a Spanish-language radio ad, he said: "I am Gabe Evans and I work hard in Congress to help families like yours."
- In social media posts, he credited his vote on Working Families Tax Cuts for "putting real money back into household budgets."
The other side: For Evans, any ads or messages that include his name and biographical information are helpful given he's new to the job and serves a low-information district north of Denver.
- Some ads listed the services his congressional office can provide to navigate the federal government.
- The Spanish-language ads are particularly key given the district is 40% Latino.
What they're saying: Alexandria Cullen, a spokesperson for Evans' congressional office, told Axios the ads and messages were key to his outreach.
- "Congressman Evans is proud of the proactive outreach he conducts to serve constituents across Northern Colorado," she said in a statement.