For the second time in less than a week Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff aggressively jousted with Republican challenger Mike Collins, who is struggling to keep Georgia's critical U.S. Senate race competitive.
Both contenders came out swinging during the Oct. 13 encounter much like they did five days prior when they exchanged personal insults while sharing policy contrasts.
Ossoff used the forum to grill Collins about his support for unpopular parts of President Donald Trump's agenda, condemning his opponent for refusing to publicly concede who won the 2020 election results and for hiring campaign aides with a history of expressing racist and antisemitic views.
But the 39-year-old Democrat mostly pounced on how the administration's trade war
has helped raise prices.
"Folks are going to the grocery store; they're paying more than ever to stock their fridge," Ossoff said.
The hourlong debate, hosted by the Atlanta Press Club, also touched on immigration, voting rights and if Democrats would impeach Trump for a third time should they retake Congress.
Ossoff entered the midterm cycle as the only Senate Democrat seeking reelection in a state Trump won in 2024, which had many political observers initially casting him as the most vulnerable Democrat in the midterm cycle.
But that narrative has faded from headlines starting with Georgia Republicans failing to recruit Gov. Brian Kemp, a popular figure, to run for the seat. Collins is trailing by as much as 13 percentage points in some polls.
Democrats are now eagerly watching the race largely over speculation that Ossoff could run for president in 2028, citing the Peach State's pivotal battleground status and rising national profile due to viral takedowns of the Trump administration.
"What Ossoff has shown in his political career by winning a seat in Georgia is that he can speak to a diverse group of voters, whether that's Democrats or Republicans, and so I think that if he wins this race, he will be considered a serious presidential contender," Rotimi Adeoye, a Democratic comms strategist, told USA TODAY in June.
Here are the key moments from Tuesday's debate:
Running for president: Ossoff pledges to serve out term
The first question didn't avoid a conversation that's been orbiting Ossoff for months — will he seek the White House in two years?
Back in August, a national poll from Emerson College showed Ossoff leading Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a hypothetical matchup.
More recent surveys have Georgia's first Jewish senator among the top five Democrats in a potential presidential primary with about 8% behind Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris.
But when asked if he will serve a full six-year term if reelected, Ossoff expressed having "zero interest" in running for president in 2028.
"I'm running for re-election to the Senate, and tonight the contrast could not be clearer between these two Senate candidates," Ossoff said.
'I'm a little tired of this': Ossoff, Collins gets testy over racist ties
Much like during the first clash, Ossoff and Collins' exchange turned personal when the conversation focused on the Republican congressman's record of hiring campaign aides with a history of espousing anti-Black and antisemitic views.
"I condemn any sort of hate speech, anti-Semitism, hate of any kind (and) it's abhorrent," Collins said when asked if he were a white nationalist.
The GOP nominee immediately pivoted to spotlighting Ossoff's support for other Senate candidates, such as Abdul El-Sayed, of Michigan, and accused his Democratic rival of having a connection to influencer Hassan Piker, a popular left-wing activist who has become a lightning rod in the 2026 midterms for several controversial online comments.
Ossoff did not relent, however, once again mentioning that Collins' son-in-law reportedly shares neo-Nazi imagery online. He called Collins a "weak" person and asked the congressman to promise it would no longer "be produced" from his home.
In a 30-second rebuttal, Collins called out how a New York man was arrested for threatening to kill him and his son-in-law, which he said was due to Ossoff's comments. "I'm a little tired of this," he said.
Ossoff seeks to yoke Collins to Trump's trade war
Over and over again Ossoff reminded viewers how much prices have gone up and connected those costs to the Trump administration's trade war and other policy choices.
"Ground beef is up 30% since Donald Trump took office," Ossoff said. "Coffee is up 30% since Donald Trump took office, those were your votes. Tariffs you supported last week. You said the tariffs were making things fair, and I think that you should explain to Georgia voters why you voted for the tariffs and what you mean by that."
Collins, who is endorsed by Trump, at one point conceded "diesel prices are high." AAA reports the average gallon of diesel is $5.74. But the GOP congressman said, "supply is coming," slamming Ossoff for supporting mass transit and other environmental regulations.
"If it wasn't so, he wouldn't have voted for that Green New Deal. If it wasn't so, they wouldn't have killed the Keystone Pipeline," Collins said. "If it wasn't so, they'd be helping to to get us to where we're energy independent." He voted against that."
Rivals differ slightly over AI amid growing fears
The rise of artificial intelligence has unified voters with polls showing more Americans opposing than favoring construction of data centers in their areas.
Asked about the role of AI in the country's future, Ossoff called it the "most complex and important legislative question of our time." He called for federal inspectors and the fortification of the federal system in defense from bioterrorism.
"We have to recognize that we cannot allow the Trump administration, which is opposed to any regulation whatsoever, to put jobs at risk or our national security at risk," Ossoff said.
On Sept. 29 Trump convened six major technology companies who signed a joint commitment meant to self-regulate the safe development of AI.
Collins emphasized that the United States is in a race with China over the technology, which he said is already in many American's lives. He said if voters don't want data centers, he's oppose to the development, but would favor them being built if a community wanted one.
"The problem is there's a lot of bad actors out there in anything that you have," Collins said. "But before we even get there, we need to make sure that these data centers are not harming the local infrastructure, like the water and electricity."
Debate turns to election rules and 2020 denialism
Multiple times during the debate Collins was asked whether Trump prevailed in the 2020 election over former President Joe Biden.
He never answered yes or no, but instead said Biden "went into office," before adding "and boy, Georgians paid for it." Collins has falsely asserted Trump won Georgia six years ago during this campaign, including shortly before the Republican primary race.
Later, Collins expressed support for the administration's call to overhaul U.S. elections under the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, or SAVE America Act, which stalled in the Senate this year.
The measure would have, among other things, required registered voters to present a form of approved photo identification such as a passport or driver's license before receiving a ballot.
"You know the problem is that we have voter ID here in Georgia. We do, but when offered the opportunity at least five times, Jon Ossoff voted against the SAVE Act to get voter ID for all across this country," Collins said.
"Y'all, we live in the best country in the world. There's no reason we shouldn't have the most secure elections in the world."
Ossoff responded by slamming his opponent for supporting the establishment of a fund for participants in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. In August, a video showed Collins agreeing with a Georgia man who was convicted of charges stemming from the attack and who suggested that the rioters were "victims of a weaponized political system."
"Mike Collins is on record supporting handing your tax dollars to the violent thugs and criminals who sacked the U.S. Capitol and tried to overturn the election," Ossoff said.
Contributing: Jay Stahl, Irene Wright
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Georgia Senate debate takeaways: Ossoff shoos off interest in WH bid
