ATLANTA — Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins told Georgia voters Tuesday night that he is not a white nationalist. But in the same debate, he would not commit to stopping what Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff called neo-Nazi propaganda being produced from Collins’ home during the final weeks of the race.
The exchange came during the Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young Debate Series, broadcast by Georgia Public Broadcasting. It was the second Ossoff-Collins debate in less than a week, following an Oct. 8 matchup hosted by Atlanta News First. Moderator Donna Lowry and panelists Greg Bluestein and Faith Jesse questioned the candidates on race, housing, health care, the war in Iran and the 2020 election.
For Black Georgians, the hour offered a clear look at how each candidate answers questions about equity and civil rights, and how often those questions went unanswered.
Mike Collins pressed on white nationalism
Jesse asked Collins about reports tying former members of his staff to white nationalists. She put the question to him directly: “Are you a white nationalist, and what do you say to Black Georgians who question whether you will represent them equally?”
“No,” Collins said. “I condemn any sort of hate speech, anti-Semitism, hate of any kind. It’s abhorrent.” He said he fires people “when things happen,” then turned to attacks on Ossoff’s donors and allies, including LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
Ossoff pressed further. “How weak a person do you have to be to be unable to stop someone under your own roof from disseminating neo-Nazi propaganda while you run for the Senate?” he asked. He asked Collins three times to commit, for the final three weeks of the campaign, that no such material would come from his home.
Collins did not make that commitment. Instead, he said a person is in jail for threatening his family and blamed Ossoff’s “rhetoric.” He then demanded that Ossoff return Hoffman’s contributions.
Later, Ossoff asked whether Collins had “accidentally put people with Klan ties” in his political organization. Collins did not respond to the question.
The Black homeownership gap
Jesse cited U.S. Census Bureau data showing that in 2024, about 80% of White Georgians owned homes, compared with about 53% of Black Georgians. She asked each candidate to name one federal policy to narrow the gap.
Mike Collins named expanding federal empowerment zones. He also pointed to corporate ownership of homes in Atlanta, which he put at 25%, and said Ossoff voted against a bill to curb it.
“False,” Ossoff responded. “I voted for the bill to crack down on corporate home ownership. It was Donald Trump who refused to sign it.” He then said Collins could not credibly claim to champion Black Georgians while elevating people with ties to the Ku Klux Klan.
Collins closed the exchange by calling for lower taxes, lower interest rates and fewer regulations.
2020 election and the ethics probe
Bluestein noted that Collins said as recently as June that Trump “won the 2020 election” and asked if he still believes that. Collins did not answer directly. Pressed by Ossoff three times over the night, he said there was “a lot of doubt in that election” and that “Joe Biden was the president in 2021.”
Ossoff also pressed Collins on a federal ethics investigation into his congressional office. Reading from the Office of Congressional Conduct’s findings, Ossoff said the nonpartisan office found “substantial reason to believe” Collins misused congressional resources and recommended he be subpoenaed.
Collins called the probe “a nothing burger” and “a political hit job.” He said he has fully complied with the House Ethics Committee. He did not say whether he would testify if subpoenaed.
Maternal health and abortion
Jesse cited Georgia Department of Public Health data finding that 87% of pregnancy-related deaths in the state from 2020 to 2022 were preventable. She asked both candidates how much funding they would commit to maternal care and by when. Neither named a dollar figure or deadline.
Ossoff said the crisis requires billions in federal support and Medicaid expansion in Georgia. He tied that to Democratic gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms and said a labor and delivery unit in Collins’ district closed after Collins voted for federal Medicaid cuts.
Mike Collins said Congress should “dedicate all the money necessary” for mothers. He pointed to $200 million he said he brought home for Georgia’s rural hospitals and blamed the Affordable Care Act for hospital struggles.
Ossoff said Collins backed a total abortion ban with no exceptions on the same stage four years ago. Collins said he has always been anti-abortion and supports Georgia’s current law, which he said allows exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother.
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Guns, war and the cost of living
Asked about school shootings, Collins said “No” to federal background checks for private gun sales. He suggested metal detectors and veterans serving as school security instead.
The candidates also clashed over the war in Iran, where 21 U.S. service members have died. Collins defended the war as stopping Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Ossoff called it a war “based on lies” and blamed it, along with tariffs Collins supported, for record grocery, gas and diesel prices.
Ossoff also pledged to serve a full six-year term if reelected, saying he has “zero interest in running for president.”
How to vote
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, and early voting is open in many states. Check your registration and find your polling place at vote.gov.
