Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and Republican Congressman Mike Collins participated in a debate Thursday at the Atlanta News First studio in Doraville. During an hour-long debate hosted by Atlanta News First and Atlanta-based Gray Media, Ossoff, who is facing his first re-election challenge since taking office in 2021, repeatedly criticized Collins over President Donald Trump’s tariffs, the war in Iran, and a series of racist and antisemitic statements made by associates.
“Mike Collins has brought dishonor to our state through his personal bigotry and his widely documented ties to white nationalists, and he sold out Georgia in his pathetic, childlike devotion to Donald Trump, voting for the tariffs that have sent groceries soaring, voting for the healthcare cuts that have doubled your insurance premiums and voting for the war that sent diesel to its record high,” Ossoff said.
Collins, who has represented Georgia’s 10th Congressional District in the northeastern part of the state since 2023, sought to paint Ossoff as “a trust fund kid who’s never had a job in his life” and criticized him for what he characterized as not preventing a government shutdown last year and policies he called weak on the border.
“He wanted to keep the borders wide open so that we had fentanyl coming across this border,” Collins said. “No one has ever asked or held Jon Ossoff accountable for any of his votes or the reasons why. I had to write a bill to fight these synthetic drugs because he left that border open and allowed this stuff to just funnel into our country, killing these young people.”
Ossoff is the only incumbent Democratic senator up for reelection in a state Trump won in 2024, and heading into this election cycle, Republicans viewed Georgia as a good opportunity to pick up a seat and protect their Senate majority against potential losses elsewhere.
Collins’ campaign denies this, pointing to million dollar-plus ad buys from Senate Republicans. Thursday’s debate represented the candidates’ first time facing each other on the debate stage. They are set to meet again Tuesday for the Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young Debate Series. Early voting also begins Tuesday.
During the debate, the candidates were asked a series of questions by Gray Media journalists from around Georgia. On questions of affordability, Ossoff said that if Democrats control the Senate, they will work to repeal Trump’s tariffs and end the war in Iran, which he blames for high gasoline prices.
“These tariffs are crushing our state, and we’ll repeal those tariffs, and I’d like to hear the congressman explain why he voted for them over and over and over again,” Ossoff said. “It costs more today than at any time in American history to stock your fridge, to fill up your truck, to power your home.”
Collins said Trump is keeping more money in Americans’ pockets through tax cuts and defended tariffs as working to create a level playing field with nations like China. He put the blame for rising prices on the economic policy of the previous administration.
