Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Georgia, faced off against his Republican challenger, Rep. Mike Collins, in their contentious Oct. 8 debate that included topics on affordability, immigration enforcement, data centers − and sharp personal attacks that drew widespread attention online.
The candidates traded insults such as Ossoff calling Collins a "bigot" and Collins calling Ossoff a "trust-fund kid."
Georgia's race is one of the races that will determine whether Democrats take control of the Senate, as it is one of just two Senate seats Democrats are defending in states carried by President Donald Trump in 2024, along with Michigan.
Ossoff leads Collins by 8 to 11 points in polls of likely Georgia voters by the Public Polling Project (Sept. 21-31), Insider Advantage
(Sept. 22-23) and Wedgewood Polls (Oct. 2-3).
These three key moments from the debate stood out as particularly attention-grabbing.
Ossoff just a 'trust fund kid'
Collins, who represents the state's rural and suburban northeast Georgia district, attacked Ossoff as a "trust fund kid who's never had a job in his life."
Both Ossoff and Collins, according to publicly available financial disclosures, are multimillionaires. Ossoff's recent annual financial disclosures – which are required for members of Congress – list a qualified blind trust between $1 million to $5 million. This type of account is typical among senators, according to the Senate Select Committee on Ethics, "to mitigate potential conflicts of interest."
The Democrat grew up in an upper-middle-class neighborhood in the Atlanta metro area and graduated from a private high school in Atlanta before attending Georgetown University. On the campaign trail, Collins has contrasted that with his own upbringing in a small, rural Georgia town, attending Georgia State University and then owning a trucking company.
Ossoff condemns Collins for ties to white supremacists
Ossoff called Collins a "bigot" who has "hired half the Third Reich to staff your congressional office."
The allegations stem from a web of controversy surrounding the Georgia Republican candidate, including that staffers and his son-in-law have white supremacist ties. In July, a CNN report found Collins' son-in-law, David Alan Scheer II, spreads white nationalist rhetoric on social media and associates with white supremacist groups. An August report from the Washington Post found a former staffer of Collins' shared KKK and Nazi imagery on his social media pages, and has promoted white supremacist messaging online.
"His office has been in cahoots with some of the most notorious white supremacists on the country," Ossoff said. "He himself has amplified neo-Nazi propaganda. He's never apologized for it and he should tonight."
Collins responded to the CNN report by saying that he does not speak for anyone else and no one speaks for him, but he has cut press conferences short when asked about Scheer, has not denounced any of the material shared by his son-in-law and repeatedly dodged any questions about white supremacist figures.
Atlanta News First anchor Rick Folbaum, who moderated the debate, asked Collins what he has said to his daughter and son-in-law and if he would "once and for all denounce white supremacy."
"I've condemned racism, antisemitism, hate. I don't care where the source is," Collins said after noting that a "crazy person" was put in jail earlier this week for threats to kill Collins and his son-in-law.
Collins invokes Hasan Piker and Abdul El-Sayed
Both candidates tied their opponent to the extreme factions of their parties.
Hasan Piker, a controversial far-left streamer who recently said that American deserved 9/11, has placed Ossoff on a hypothetical 2028 Democratic presidential nominee list, and Collins referred to that, saying that Piker "endorsed Jon Ossoff for president in 2028."
Piker has become a rather hot point in this election cycle's attacks on Democratic candidates, particularly for Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who campaigned with Piker by his side earlier this season. El-Sayed has since distanced himself from Piker.
El-Sayed is not a democratic socialist, and he is not a member of the Democratic Socialists of America organization, but Collins falsely asserted that he is and attempted to tie Ossoff to him.
"I've never heard him say a word about his DSA pick up there, Abdul El-Sayed, Hasan Piker," Collins said.
Contributing: Irene Wright
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Bigot' vs 'trust-fund kid': Ossoff, Collins trade insults at GA debate
