Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) on Tuesday dodged a question about his son-in-law, a white nationalist influencer who has apparently recorded and posted antisemitic and white nationalist videos while living on Collins’ property, at the second Georgia Senate debate.

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) had hammered Collins on the issue, and Collins’ other ties to extremist figures including former congressional staff, at a previous debate last week, accusing Collins of hiring “half of the Third Reich.” 

Asked by the debate moderator about Ossoff’s accusations and his former staff, Collins said that he condemns “any sort of hate speech, antisemitism, hate of any kind, it’s abhorrent. I fire people when things happen.”

“I’ll tell you, young people on both sides, Republicans and the whole DSA wing of the Democrat Party, we do have a problem with antisemitism and hate around the world,” Collins said. “These young people feel like they’ve been forgotten, and they’re just lashing out. And this hate speech has got to stop. We’ve got to educate them. We’ve got to help them by giving them opportunities.” 

Ossoff responded by pressing Collins to commit to ensuring that no more neo-Nazi propaganda would be shared from his home before the election. 

“I’m a little tired of this, Jon,” Collins responded. “There’s a crazy person in jail right now because of your rhetoric — threatened my son-in-law, threatened to kill me. Had another threat just yesterday. That’s because of you and your rhetoric that you’re out there spewing, just vitriol, hate.”

Collins sought to turn the tables on Ossoff, emphasizing his support for Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, and El-Sayed’s connections to antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker and the Democratic Socialists of America.

“Mike, if any of those folks were based in my house, then I’d understand you’d ask me to take responsibility for them,” Ossoff shot back. “What I asked you, Mike, was can you commit for just three weeks to stop the production of neo-Nazi propaganda from your home? We all know what’s happening. Why can’t you stop it? Why won’t you commit right now to stop it?”

The two continued to talk over each other until moderators forced them to move on. 

Collins also defended his support for the Iran war, praising the administration for having the “leadership” to send in U.S. forces to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

“My opponent and the Democrats, all they’re interested in is sending more money to Iran,” Collins said. “We’re in Iran to make sure they don’t get a nuclear bomb and destroy America, because that’s what they want to do. And I’ve got kids and grandkids, and we want to make sure that they have a future.”

Ossoff, for his part, called Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whom he voted to confirm, a “deep disappointment” and said that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth “has lied repeatedly about the war in Iran.”

Asked by a moderator about his stance on U.S. aid to Israel, Ossoff largely repeated an answer he offered at a previous debate, standing by his votes on resolutions to block arms sales to the Jewish state while emphasizing that he wants security for both Israelis and Palestinians.

“When it comes to selling weapons or giving weapons to a foreign government, we should assess in every case whether that foreign government is acting consistent with our interests, our laws and our values,” Ossoff said. “Israel had every right to go to war with Hamas after the despicable Oct. 7 terrorist attack. I also believe that it’s right for U.S. senators to ensure that American laws and international laws are being respected by those who fight with our weapons.”