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.”

Asked about Sen. Jon Ossoff’s comments accusing him of hiring “half of the Third Reich," Rep. Mike Collins condemned “any sort of hate speech, antisemitism, hate of any kind" and said, "I fire people when things happen.” Read @marcrod97’s full coverage: https://t.co/t3PxpEE2kO https://t.co/s6C2upomiQ

— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) October 14, 2026

“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.”

LAS VEGAS — Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) on Sunday disavowed the antisemitic views and white nationalist affiliations of several former staffers and said that he understands why Jewish voters are concerned, but also suggested there was little he could have done to identify those red flags in the hiring process.

Collins, the GOP nominee for Georgia’s Senate seat, has been mostly quiet publicly about the repeated disclosures concerning his former staffers — as well as his son-in-law — and is working to court Jewish voters concerned about Sen. Jon Ossoff’s (D-GA) record of voting against aid to Israel on multiple occasions.

“Those staffers — those views are abhorrent, and they don’t represent my values,” Collins told reporters at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership summit. “And you can look at my voting record.”

Pressed by Jewish Insider on how or whether he would change vetting procedures to ensure that such staff didn’t find their way onto his team again in the future, Collins downplayed the connections between himself and their activity, saying “this was after they were on my team and gone.”

But at least one of those staffers was engaged in the activity while still working for Collins:  his former Chief of Staff Kip Talley was reportedly active in a white nationalist group chat discussing efforts to free a Holocaust denier from prison while still on Collins’ team.

“I can’t see into the future, but regardless I still don’t agree with them, period,” Collins continued. “We can vet all day long, but what happens when they leave and they go out into the future — that’s a different question. But I certainly don’t want people around me like that.”

He said that he sees “a rise of antisemitism and hate with young people around the globe, and we certainly need to address that because so many of these young people feel like they’ve been forgotten.”

Collins said that education and opportunity are key to pulling young people out of such radicalization and conspiracy theories.

Collins cast Ossoff as positioning himself to run as a Democratic Socialists of America candidate for president, highlighting Ossoff’s recent endorsement of Abdul El-Sayed for Michigan’s Senate seat and the support he previously received from antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker.

Neither Ossoff nor El-Sayed are DSA members. Piker disavowed Ossoff this week after Ossoff condemned recent antisemitic comments.

“We are both polar opposites, even on where we stand on Israel,” Collins said. “And it goes well past just the support for Israel and the Jewish population.”

In remarks to the RJC audience, Collins emphasized that his support for Israel is rooted in his religious faith.

“My faith tells me to support Israel,” Collins said. “I don’t have to answer to anybody in this room, but I tell you what, I’ve got to answer to the man upstairs, and by God, that’s important to me, and I know where I stand on that.”

He went on to emphasize that, even apart from faith, the contributions Israel has made to the world and the ways it has supported U.S. interests — including opposing Iran and other terrorist regimes — make supporting Israel worthwhile.

“That’s my stand. It always will be, and I have no problem professing that,” Collins said.

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) joined the growing list of Democrats condemning far-left streamer Hasan Piker’s recent comments suggesting American Jews bear responsibility for inciting antisemitic attacks due to their support for Israel.

Piker had in March named Ossoff as his “dark-horse pick” for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, alongside a series of further-left candidates. Ossoff, at the time, did not respond to questions from Jewish Insider about Piker.

An Ossoff spokesperson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the Georgia senator “unreservedly rejects reckless and dangerous rhetoric suggesting that policy advocacy invites violence against the Jewish community or any community” and that “American Jews and all Americans must have the freedom and security to speak out and petition their government without fear of reprisal.”

The statement as reported by the AJC, which did not explicitly mention Piker, came in response to a question about the streamer’s comments.

Meanwhile, Ossoff’s GOP opponent, Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), is again facing criticism over the extremist activity of an associate, following a Washington Post report that a former staffer shared images of a swastika and of himself in a KKK robe.

“[Former Collins staffer] Preston Parra has no affiliation with Mike Collins’ office or campaign. The posts are vile, completely unhinged, and Mike Collins unequivocally condemns them,” Meyer Siegfried, a Collins campaign spokesperson said in a statement. “Rep. Collins believes the rise in antisemitism and hate among younger Americans and among Jon Ossoff’s allies like Hasan Piker and [Michigan Democratic Senate nominee] Abdul El-Sayed is equally abhorrent and, unlike Ossoff, has condemned it from all sources directly.”

In recent months, Collins’ son-in-law was revealed to be an antisemitic and white nationalist social media influencer and his former chief of staff was found to be a member of a group chat with prominent white nationalists where he discussed using congressional authority to free a Holocaust denier from prison.

Another former Collins staffer also went on an antisemitic tirade against Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) at a Washington, D.C. bar earlier this year, and Collins previously responded approvingly to an X account that attacked a reporter for her Jewish identity.

The publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times penned an open letter to Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) on Wednesday pressing the senator over his repeated votes to block U.S. military sales to Israel, accusing Ossoff of failing to support Israel and of misrepresenting his positions to his Jewish constituents.

“I apologize for being blunt, but please, stop lying to me and your constituents. I hear you claim, over and over again, that you support Israel — that your support is ‘ironclad,’” Michael Morris wrote in the letter. “It is not. You vote against Israel on the Senate floor in Washington, then come home to Georgia and make this untruthful claim.”

The open letter is the latest expression of frustration with the Jewish first-term senator, who is up for reelection in November, from prominent leaders in Georgia’s Jewish community. Others have told Jewish Insider they feel that they have no good options in November’s midterm, between Ossoff, whose stances on Israel have frustrated them, and Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), whose rhetoric and ties to antisemitic and far-right figures have raised alarms.

“Your antagonism toward Israel has remained steadfast,” Morris wrote to Ossoff, highlighting his repeated votes for measures led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to cut off weapons sales to Israel. “Your vote continues to demonstrate a lack of support for the Jewish state.”

Ossoff’s Senate campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Morris said in the open letter that Ossoff’s support for Israel is only reliable on nonbinding rhetorical measures supporting Israel’s right to defend itself or condemning Hamas.

“But when a bill offers Israel tangible strategic support — munitions, rifles, bombs, military and financial assistance — your record is abysmal, and you throw Israel under the bus,”  Morris said. “You are with Israel on the votes that cost you nothing, and against it on the votes that actually matter. All that heartfelt sympathy is smoke and mirrors.”

He said that supporting measures to stop arms sales to Israel is not consistent with a pro-Israel stance.

And he questioned whether Ossoff’s pro-Israel message, delivered to Jewish constituents, has remained consistent in front of other crowds, like the Muslim community.

“You campaigned as a supporter of Israel. You were elected to stand with our allies. You continue to claim that you support Israel. Demonstrate your support with your vote on the Senate floor,” Morris wrote. “If instead you choose to keep voting against Israel, at least do not come home and obfuscate your vote — own your record. Because if you are not telling us the truth about this, Senator, I am left to ask: what else are you not telling us?”