Hello, I'm Donna Lowry, host of Lawmakers on Georgia Public Broadcasting.

Welcome to the Atlanta Press Club.

Loudermilk-Young Debate Series from the studios of Georgia Public Broadcasting.

The 2026 debate series was made possible by grants to the Atlanta Press Club from the Arthur M Blank Family Foundation and the Robert Charles Loudermilk Senior Foundation.

This is the debate for candidates running for U.S.

Senate.

We have two journalists who will question the candidates.

Greg Bluestein is the chief political reporter for the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Faith Jessie is a news anchor and reporter at 11 Alive in Atlanta.

I'm going to kick off today's debate, asking each of the candidates to introduce themselves and tell viewers why they should be the next U.S.

Senator from Georgia.

Candidates will have 60s to introduce themselves.

We will go in alphabetical order, starting with representative Mike Collins.

Good evening.

This is a race between Georgia and Georgetown, somebody that has created jobs and opportunities right here in Georgia on this red clay versus a globe trotting trust fund kid who got to the Senate.

And then at every turn has voted to make our life less safe, more expensive, and worse off.

I mean, behind this highly skilled, scripted online clips is a coward, a coward who lies about his accomplishments and views his success not as what he does for Georgia, but the number of clicks that he gets on social media and the praises that he gets from his radical friends.

You see, while Jon Ossoff spent his time raising our taxes and putting men and women's domestic violence centers and leaving the borders wide open, I went to work for you, passing two bills signed by two presidents, two different parties, improving the lives of Georgians with Jon Ossoff.

He raised our taxes.

We need a U.S.

Senator who represents Hollywood, Georgia, not Hollywood, California.

Thank you very much, Senator John Ossoff.

You may introduce yourself.

Well, Donna, thank you so much for moderating.

And thank you to the Press Club for hosting us.

Congressman, it's good to see you again.

You all know that I believe in asking tough questions, whether it's of the Postmaster general when the mail is late in Georgia or of those defense contractors up at Fort Gordon who were abusing Georgia military families, or of a secretary of defense when he lies us into war.

And tonight, we're going to continue asking tough questions of Congressman Mike Collins.

We're going to pick up right where we left off last week and ask him questions.

He refused to answer why he voted for the tariffs and the war and the health care cuts that have driven prices to record highs.

Why he won't commit to testifying in the ongoing federal probe of his office.

And we'll ask him again to explain his widely documented and completely disqualifying ties to white nationalism and neo-Nazi ideology.

We'll see tonight if the congressman has the courage to respond.

Thank you very much for the full set of debate rules, please visit Atlanta Press Club.org.

Our panel will now ask a question to an individual candidate, and we'll start with Greg Bluestein, who will ask a question for John Ossoff.

And once again, you have 60s for your answer.

Senator Ossoff, you've repeatedly said you won't run for president in 2028, but your name continues to surface as a potential contender.

So will you pledge right now, tonight to serve your full six year term if you win?

Yes, I will.

I have zero interest in running for president.

I'm not running for president.

I'm running for reelection to the Senate.

And tonight, the contrast could not be clearer between these two Senate candidates.

So let's hear from Congressman Mike Collins, who told us last week, you'll recall, if you were watching, that these tariffs were, quote, making things fair, just exactly what he meant by that.

Folks are going to the grocery store.

They're paying more than ever to stock their fridge, ground beef is up 30% since Donald Trump took office.

Coffee is up 30% since Donald Trump took office.

Those were your votes, Mike.

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.

Would you like a rebuttal.

Yeah.

You know tough questions are going to come out tonight.

No one's ever challenged Doe Jon Ossoff on anything he's ever voted on.

So what we're going to do tonight is we're going to go through Jon Ossoff record.

We're going to make sure that you understand exactly what he's been doing while he's been in Congress, because I'm like Bluestein, he is running for president.

He's going to be your DSA candidate.

We're going to start out, though, with making things less safe, because Jon Ossoff is out there talking about protecting children, protecting them out there.

But we're going to get to that in just a second because we want to.

Know we we're out of time on that.

We want to go to a question, another question.

We want to get as many questions in as possible.

Faith Jessie please ask your question of Mike Collins.

Thank you.

Donna.

Representative Collins, the military now reporting that 21 U.S.

Service members have been killed since the war in Iran has begun.

If the president requests American ground troops in Iran, will you support that deployment, even if it means more American casualties?

Thank you for the question, Faith.

Um, you know, Iran, we have been at war with this Islamic terrorist regime for over 47 years.

They've been killing Americans ever since.

And they were this close to getting a nuclear weapon.

And thank goodness we had the leadership to send people over there to take care of those those nuclear weapons that they were they were trying to create.

Now we need to make sure that they don't have a bomb, because my opponent and the Democrats, all they're interested in is sending more money to the to Iran sent over cash over $1.3 billion in cash.

But Jon Ossoff, we want to understand about the border down there why you you went out there saying you were protecting children and the whole time you would not shut that border down when children were being trafficked across that border for heinous reasons for who knows what that they were doing to those kids.

And you had the opportunity to shut that border down and stop that child trafficking.

But you wouldn't.

Thank you.

You have 30s for a rebuttal, John Ossoff.

Thank you.

Donna.

Well, the question was about the war in Iran.

21 Americans dead, a global energy crisis.

You see what we have right here is the Washington establishment.

Congress is full of Congressmen's sons who are only in Congress because their daddies were congressmen, just like Mike Collins, who are perfectly happy to send other people's children to die in war.

How is this war a success?

Mike?

Why don't you respond?

You have 30s for respond.

Mike Collins.

You know, the only thing my parents gave me was the opportunity to go to work.

Jon Ossoff.

The only thing he knows about work is working the ATM machine, getting his granddaddy's money out of it.

Now 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.

And we have leadership.

We finally have leadership that understands that and is making sure that we put America first, and we do it through peace, through strength.

Thank you.

We're going to have to go to another question.

I'm sorry, Faith Jessie your question for John Ossoff.

Senator Ossoff, you voted for the Laken Riley act, which mandates detention for certain immigrants accused of crimes even without a conviction.

Do you stand by that vote knowing that some may never be found guilty?

Faith, thank you for the question.

Here's the bottom line about that law.

It is right that immigration enforcement should focus on those who are convicted of or wanted for crimes.

If you're in the United States illegally and you commit a crime, you've got to leave.

It is also right that provisions of that law were overbroad, and we need to address that.

But look at what Mike Collins and Donald Trump have been doing.

They've been rounding up people with no criminal history, with no criminal record.

They've been separating children from their parents.

They've unleashed masked federal agents on the streets of our cities who have killed American citizens with impunity.

Mike Collins called for killing immigrants by throwing them to their deaths out of helicopters.

I'd like to hear if Mike Collins stands by that statement.

Do you still believe in the extrajudicial killing of immigrants?

You have 30s.

Yes, ma'am.

You know, the Laken Riley act has been responsible for removing over 20,000 illegal criminals from our streets, making this country safer.

Well, let's get back to that border, because John Ossoff has been out there running ads protecting children paid for by one of Jeffrey Epstein's friend, Reid Hoffman, a man who visited the Epstein Island and is also a leading million dollar super PAC that's supporting his legislation, supporting his his campaign.

John Ossoff, I'll give you time for rebuttal.

Yeah.

Mike, you want to raise the Epstein files?

You voted to cover up the Epstein files.

I want folks across the state to know this.

When we took those votes, we knew that 14 and 15-year-old girls had been raped and trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplices.

He wouldn't vote to release those files until Donald Trump gave him permission.

Have you ever spoken to those victims?

Do you have tonight a message to Jeffrey Epstein's victims after you voted to cover up that evidence?

Mike?

Mike Collins 30s.

I voted to release those files.

But here's the hypocrisy in this thing.

Jon Ossoff his number one donor, one of his largest donors is Reid Hoffman.

The same guy that's in the the Epstein files.

The same guy that sent ice cream, ice cream to Jeffrey Epstein on his birthday and said, this is for the girls.

Jon.

The call's coming from inside the house.

Epstein class that you're talking about.

I'm looking at him right now.

Unfortunately, we're going to have to move on.

Greg, please ask your question of Mike Collins.

Congressman Collins, you've said as recently as June that President Trump, quote, won the 2020 election.

Do you still believe that Trump defeated Joe Biden in 2020?

Yeah.

You know, Joe Biden went into office and, uh, boy, Georgians paid for it.

Look at what happened during the Biden years.

Look at what happened with John Ossoff voting for that Biden nomics mess that cost historic inflation.

That's what caused your prices to go up, people.

That's what caused all of your housing, your food, your clothing, your cars, you name it, whatever you buy went up because of Jon Ossoff and the Democrats with that Biden nomics debacle.

And then to put on top of that, the Green New Deal.

And then then you can take that even further.

When we had the opportunity to put money back in your pockets.

Oh, no, he doesn't think you deserve that.

He voted for the largest tax increase in the history of this country.

He wanted to take more of your money when he provided the high prices on what you have to pay for out there.

That's where this inflation is coming from.

30s John Ossoff rebuttal.

Well, let's talk about what's driving inflation and the cost of living crisis, because we still didn't get an answer at the beginning of this debate on the tariffs.

Mike, you said last week the tariffs are making it fair.

Why don't you explain that statement.

30s you know let's talk to my farmers down in South Georgia on tariffs.

You know they've been struggling because these South American countries, these socialist countries, communist countries, which I'm sure you like, they've been just flooding the, the the cotton into the state and into this country, destroying the prices.

It's one reason we had to raise reference pricing, which Jon Ossoff voted against.

By the way, timber.

I've been in the timber industry all my life.

I've seen Canada just flood lumber into this into this country.

They don't care what they make for it.

As long as they get $1, they're getting $1.

But it is destroying American jobs and business.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mike Collins faith, please ask another question of Mike Collins.

Congressman Collins, in the last debate, Senator Ossoff called you a bigot and that you hired her half of the Third Reich.

This was in connection to former members of your staff and their potential connections to white nationalists.

According to reports.

So I want to get your response to that.

And I just want to ask you directly here.

Are you a white nationalist?

And what do you say to black Georgians who question whether you will represent them equally?

No, I condemn any sort of hate speech, anti-Semitism, hate of any kind.

It's abhorrent.

You know, when and I've fired people when things happen, fired them.

The problem is Jon Ossoff never has done that.

I mean, he hangs his hat on this Abdul El-Sayed, you know, the guy that that hates Israel, the best friends with Hasan piker that said that America deserves 9/11.

Where's his condemnation of that of those two?

Where's his condemnation of Reid Hoffman, the guy that's been funding his campaign?

You don't hear that.

I'll tell you, young people, young people, they're on both sides.

Republicans and the whole DSA wing of the Democrat Party.

We do have a problem with anti-Semitism and hate around the world.

These people, these young people feel like they've been forgotten and they're just lashing out in this hate speech has got to stop.

And we've got we've got to educate them.

We've got to help them by giving them opportunities.

Thank you.

Mike Collins Jon Ossoff you have time for a 32nd rebuttal?

Well, how weak a person do you have to be to be unable to stop someone under your own roof from disseminating neo-Nazi propaganda while you run for the Senate, the paper reported.

It's still going on to this day.

How about this, Mike?

We can shake hands on it.

Will you commit tonight that for the remainder of this campaign?

It's just three weeks, Mike.

You won't allow any more neo-Nazi propaganda to be produced from your house.

Can you make that commitment?

Unfortunately, I'm.

No.

I deserve that.

30s.

30s, sir.

Yes, ma'am.

You know what?

I'm a little tired of this.

Jon.

This crazy person in jail right now because of your rhetoric.

And you threatened my son in law and 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.

Well, what about you?

You have not denounced.

You've not condemned.

Give me Reid Hoffman, one of your largest donors out there, one that's been been supporting you with over $1 million.

Why don't you denounce that?

Why don't you return that money?

Thank you.

32nd rebuttal, Mike, if any of these folks were based in my house, then I'd understand you to ask me to take responsibility for them.

What?

I asked you, Mike, was, can you commit for just three weeks to stop the production of neo-Nazi propaganda from your home?

It's happening.

We all know it's happening.

Why can't you stop it?

Why won't you commit right now to stopping it?

No, ma'am.

All right.

30s.

And this was the last.

What I'm going to ask you is, why don't you denounce Reid Hoffman right now?

Why don't you give that money back to Reid Hoffman?

The Epstein files class guy.

So you can't you can't give the money back.

You don't you don't know people that give you $20 or $15 or $10.

But you know, the people that max out to you, you know, the people pumping $1 million into your super.

So you're going to allow neo-Nazi.

Propaganda to.

Continue to be produced from your.

Home while you.

Run for.

The U.S.

Senate.

Is that correct?

You've been putting.

You're just going to let the neo-Nazi propaganda continue.

Is that right?

You put the commercials.

Is that right?

Make the commitment.

Me?

No.

neo-Nazi propaganda commitment.

You do it.

We are going to have to move on.

Gentlemen.

Can you do.

Get the money back.

We are going to have to move.

No more money.

Give the money back.

Thank you very much.

We're going to move on.

Greg, you have the final question of this round for Jon Ossoff.

Senator Ossoff, you've called the war against Iran a disastrous war of choice.

But you voted to confirm Secretary of State Marco Rubio a few months ago, who, of course, has helped lead the administration's foreign policy.

So knowing what you know today, do you regret that vote?

Look, Secretary Rubio has been a deep disappointment, but not as deep a disappointment as Secretary Hegseth, who has lied repeatedly about the war in Iran.

I want everybody to remember that.

They told us last year that they'd obliterated Iran's nuclear program.

And then they told us this year that it posed an imminent threat, and they had to take us to war.

Both times they were lying.

President declared victory on the fourth day of the war.

It's been months and months.

21 Americans have been killed, hundreds wounded.

It's never cost more to fill up your truck.

We have a global energy crisis.

And Congressman Collins, to this day continues to defend the war.

I think that Georgians deserve to know.

Congressman, how this war has helped them.

Iran still has its uranium, its drones, its missiles.

How has this war helped Georgians?

Simple question.

32nd rebuttal.

You know, you thought the war in Iran.

I think it's hypocritical and ironic at the same time that.

Jon Ossoff.

You know, you take a look.

Everybody needs to remember this.

That's his word.

Remember, Georgia, remember this.

He's the guy that's out there recruiting, supporting and endorsing people like Abdul El-Sayed.

That's his guy.

He can't go against.

That's why he's for Iran, because Abdul El-Sayed and the whole DSA movement, they hate Israel.

They want they would rather vote for Iran than to.

Support Israel.

32nd rebuttal.

And then we're going to move on.

Yeah.

Mike Collins is raising a Senate candidate in Michigan.

When the question and a question that Georgians deserve to hear an answer to is how this war has been in our interests, folks can't fill up a whole tank of gas.

Agriculture is getting crushed.

Everything's more expensive.

21 Americans dead, hundreds wounded.

Iran still has its uranium, its drones, its missiles.

Just answer the question, Mike.

How has this war been a success?

We're going to move on because that concludes our first round.

Now, each candidate will now ask two questions of their opponent.

You will have 30s to ask the question, 60s to respond.

And the person who asked the questions will get a 32nd rebuttal.

And Senator John Ossoff, please ask your first question of representative Mike Collins.

Yeah, Mike, the press has heard the tape.

I've heard the tape.

I think you've heard the tape.

Donald Trump demanding that Brad Raffensperger deliver the votes to win in a state he'd lost.

You didn't answer earlier.

Answer.

Now, did Donald Trump win the 2020 election?

You may respond.

All right.

Thank you.

You know, the 2020 election, everybody's seen my my views on that.

What are they they know my views on that.

There was a lot of doubt in that election.

Yes.

Joe Biden was the president.

And yes, we saw the results of the Biden presidency, along with John Ossoff.

Folks.

You saw what happened under that that that debacle of an administration, whether it was the the Biden nomics that they passed.

That's what caused all this high inflation.

He's trying to he'll talk about anything he can except his record.

That's why we're going to continue to talk about his record tonight, to make sure that you understand the reason that everything is so high.

Your groceries, your your clothes, every you name it, it's because of what they put on the backs of the American people and that Green New Deal.

You talk about farmers.

How much property is gone from farmland to to solar panels because of the money that they were shelling out?

Thank you very much, John Ossoff rebuttal.

Well, Donna, I didn't hear an answer to the question.

The question was whether Donald Trump won the 2020 election.

Not only will Mike Collins refuse to answer tonight, but he's on record repeatedly insisting that Donald Trump did, in fact, win the 2020 election, an election that he lost.

And 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.

Aren't you, Mike?

Thank you, representative Collins, your question to Senator John Ossoff, please.

You know, John, one of your your largest donors is Reid Hoffman.

He slept on the Epstein Island.

He stayed at his Manhattan townhouse.

He sent Epstein ice cream and said it's for the girls.

You claim to fight against Epstein class.

But I'm going to tell you this call is coming from inside the house, and the Epstein class is on stage right now.

And it's you will you condemn Reid Hoffman and apologize for your hypocrisy tonight?

Mike, who on your team advised you to raise the Epstein files?

You voted to cover up the evidence.

Mike.

Listen, folks, I want to repeat it again.

It's important to understand, when Congress was voting on whether to release that evidence, we all knew what had happened.

But you voted to cover up the evidence, even though you knew 14-year-old girls had been raped because Donald Trump told you to.

Donald Trump, who, by the way, is named 1,000 times in the Epstein Files.

Have you ever met with Jeffrey Epstein's victims?

When they asked you why you voted to cover up the Epstein files, do you have an answer?

What would you say to them tonight, Mike, after you voted to cover up evidence of the most notorious sex trafficking ring in American history, the vote is public record.

You voted to cover up the Epstein files.

You should explain that vote to Jeffrey Epstein's victims.

Right now.

President of Collins.

Your rebuttal.

You know, he never answered the question.

You know, he won't answer the question because he's part of that crowd.

That's the people he caters to.

People like Reid Hoffman.

Disgusting.

That's a data center.

Billionaire Epstein, elite class.

That's part of Jon Ossoff, by the way, John, I did vote to release the Epstein files.

I voted to release them.

Thank you.

Jon Ossoff you may ask your question.

Your second question of Representative Collins.

Well, Mike diesel is at its all time high.

Unleaded is at $4.

40% of Americans are cutting food and health costs because they can't afford gas.

Last week, you said gas prices were coming down.

Explain that statement to voters across Georgia.

You know, diesel prices are coming down.

Diesel is high.

It's too high.

But the fact of the matter is that we've we've done things to get more supply.

It's a supply and demand issue.

And the problem is that we've spent decades people decades of of just decimating our own refineries here to where we can't refine.

And that's due to Jon Ossoff, the Democrats who don't even want you in gas automobiles.

As a matter of fact, Jon Ossoff doesn't really care how high gas prices get, because what he actually wants, he wants you to ride in mass transit.

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 if it wasn't.

So they'd be helping to to get us to where we're energy independent.

He voted against that.

He would rather have us be dependent on foreign countries out there to produce our oil.

When we've got more right here under our own earth, more than we'll ever need.

But it's people like that that don't understand economics, that vote against this stuff.

Thank you.

Ossoff you have a rebuttal.

Diesel is up 70% since Trump took office.

Mike, you said last week gas prices were coming down.

You didn't explain the statement.

You want another try?

Our gas prices coming down.

You may answer 30s.

Are they coming down?

Diesel prices are high.

Diesel prices are high.

The supply is coming.

The supply is coming now and the prices will continue to come down.

They're already coming down, but they're going to continue to come down.

What needs to be explained is why Jon Ossoff, he really doesn't care about the gas prices.

They can be as high as whatever.

It doesn't matter.

He's a Green New Deal guy.

He doesn't want you in gasoline or diesel vehicles.

We want you riding on mass transit.

Thank you.

We are going to have to move on.

We really want to get more questions.

Now you get the last question in this round.

Mike Collins for Jon Ossoff.

Okay.

Yeah.

John, you like to talk about constituent services?

You know, when I was in your in your office, I asked you to help our shared constituent Laken Riley to, to get justice.

And you just stared at me.

We could have passed her bill under President Biden, but you wouldn't lift a finger.

I mean, were you too cowardly to stand up for what's right?

Or was it or was it just politically convenient to wait until it was going to pass anyway?

Mike, you know, I voted for the bill.

You're not just lying about my record.

You're lying about a young woman's death.

Because your campaign is in collapse and your campaign is in collapse.

Because the whole state knows that your currently under federal investigation for the illegal misuse of tax dollars.

And last week, you said you wanted the House Ethics Committee to release all those files.

Well, here is what the Office of Congressional Conduct said.

It said the board recommends that the Committee on Ethics issue a subpoena to representative Mike Collins to force him to testify, because there is, quote, substantial reason to believe that Rep Collins used congressional resources for unofficial or otherwise unauthorized purposes.

Those are public money.

Don't lie about my record.

Explain why you won't testify right now.

Thank you.

Mike Collins 32nd rebuttal.

Wow.

Georgia.

Did you hear that?

Do you understand that all he does is deflect.

He deflects.

When we finally get into talking about his record of how he actually votes, what he actually thinks, you want to know if he'd have been in the private sector, he'd have been fired because he was responsible for that young woman's death.

He allowed that border to stay open.

He knew that border was he knew that criminals were flooding across that border down there, killing and harming Americans.

He didn't help lift a finger on that bill.

He only voted for it when it was politically convenient.

Thank you.

He knew it was going.

To pass.

Thank you both.

You are watching the general election debate for U.S.

Senate and will now go back to the panel, who will ask questions to the candidate of their choice.

Until we run out of time and Faith Jessie, we're going to start with you.

Thank you so much, Donna.

Congressman Collins, my first question is for you, black Georgians face persistent disparities in home ownership, household wealth and access to capital in our state.

Just a number for you here.

According to the U.S.

Census Bureau, in 2024, white Georgians owned about or excuse me, about 80% of white Georgians own homes, compared to just about 53% of Black Georgians.

Can you name one federal policy you would champion specifically to narrow those gaps for black Georgians?

Yeah, you know, I can I was sitting there trying to right to stay ahead of you.

Um, empowerment zones, huge, huge.

I think we need to expand them and push them even further.

But when you talk about housing, look at what's happened here in Atlanta.

I mean, 25% of the houses are now owned by corporate ownership.

We voted to to get rid of that.

And the problem is Jon Ossoff voted against that.

He voted against that.

We we we voted to make sure that that young people have that opportunity to, to get out there and chase their version of the American dream, to make sure that they have that opportunity.

Those are those are two great examples of what we need to do.

Thank you.

We're going to move.

We need the opportunity to respond to that.

He made a false allegation.

30s, sir.

So first of all, false.

I voted for the bill to crack down on corporate home ownership.

It was Donald Trump who refused to sign it.

Mike, but you stand here and say you're going to be a champion for black Georgians when you elevate to positions of leadership in your political organization, people with ties to the Ku Klux Klan.

You want to explain that to folks across Georgia?

Did you accidentally put people with Klan ties in your political organization?

32nd rebuttal.

Well, we need to do for the people of the state of Georgia is make sure that they have money in their pockets, make sure that they have opportunities.

You do that by getting interest rates down.

You do that by getting this economy back to rolling again.

And how do you do that?

You do that through lower taxes.

You do that through making sure that regulations are off the backs of the American people and American businesses out there.

See, Jon Ossoff doesn't talk about things like that.

It's because he can't he'd rather throw smears and accusations and lies out there about me.

Instead of talk about actual.

Thank you, Mr.

Collins.

We are going to go to Greg and it's your turn to ask a question.

Senator Ossoff, if Democrats take the U.S.

House in November, would you support a push to impeach President Trump?

And if so, would you vote to convict him?

Well, Greg, in my view, based upon the evidence I've seen thus far, the president's misconduct, abuse of power and corruption already exceed any prior standard for impeachment.

If the U.S.

House does send us articles of impeachment, then I'll consider them on the merits.

As a juror in the Senate, it's worth reminding everybody that while you pay more for everything, when it costs more than any time in American history to power your home, stock your fridge, fill up your truck.

Because of the tariffs, Mike Collins voted for because of the war, Mike Collins continues to defend because of the health care cuts he voted for.

Donald Trump is enriching himself and his family to the tune of billions of dollars.

I wonder if Mike Collins can defend that.

I wonder if Mike Collins can defend voting to double your health insurance premiums.

You didn't explain it last week, Mike.

Why did you vote to double health insurance premiums for your own constituents?

You.

Representative Collins you have 30s.

You know, there's a lot that Jon Ossoff didn't explain last week.

Let's talk about expensive because, boy, he's made our life more expensive.

You know, first of all, you voted against the child care tax credit.

Moms.

Think about that.

He voted against that to let it expire.

He wanted to do away with it.

The problem is he doesn't care how much it costs.

He never he won't ever have to fool with that.

He won't ever have to fool with health care because he doesn't care.

He doesn't need to.

He's a trust fund kid.

He'll always have that money there.

Thank you very much.

We're going to go back to our panelists and faith, we go back to you for question for one of the candidates.

Thank you, Senator Ossoff.

My next question is for you.

In the last debate, you said that Israeli forces violated the international humanitarian law.

You also support military assistance to Israel.

So should Congress place any conditions on that aid to Israel?

And do you believe any violations should trigger a cutoff?

Well, faith, first of all, let me say that the security of the Israeli people matters to me.

I have relatives living in Israel.

The safety and security of Palestinians matters to me, and it should matter to all of us.

And here's the bottom line 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.

Israel had every right to go to war with Hamas after the despicable October seventh 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, and I stand by those votes.

Thank you.

Greg, please ask another question.

Congressman Collins, this one's for you.

Should the Trump administration intervene in Georgia's election system or have a role in declaring whether the state's voting machines are illegal or illegal?

You know, I believe that voting should always be a state's right.

And Georgia that people have if they don't have confidence in our elections, then then we need to make sure that they do.

And that needs to, to go for, for any state.

You know, the problem is that we have voter ID here in Georgia.

We do.

But when when offered the opportunity at least five times, Jon Ossoff voted against the Save act to get voter ID for all across this country.

You know, we live in the best country in the world.

There's no reason we shouldn't have the most secure elections in the world.

But people like Jon Ossoff, they don't believe that.

But I'll tell you something else.

What he does believe in is making sure that you have an ID if you want to go to one of his rallies.

All right.

Thank you.

30s, please.

Yeah, Mike, we have voter ID in Georgia.

The question is about election administration.

You still have an answer tonight whether you believe Donald Trump actually won the 2020 election.

Here's your third chance.

Did Donald Trump really win the 2020 election?

Do you want to answer Mike.

30s 30s he still hasn't answered for the third time, anything about Reid Hoffman.

But I have said numerous times that Joe Biden was the president in 2021.

Not what I. Asked, but where's his answer?

Where's his answer?

On, on, on the list of things that we've and we've got more questions for him to go.

We're going to move on.

Faith is your turn to ask a question.

Thank you.

This question is for both of the candidates.

I would love for you to both weigh in on the issue of maternal health.

According to Georgia's Department of Public Health, 87% of pregnancy related deaths here in our state 2020-2022 could have been prevented.

So Senator Ossoff and Congressman Collins, if either of you are elected, how much funding will you commit to securing for direct maternal care here in Georgia?

And by what deadline?

Senator Ossoff.

Faith, thank you for the question.

It's going to require not just billions of dollars of federal support, but also Medicaid expansion here in Georgia, which is why it is crucial that we elect Mayor Keisha Lance bottoms, the next governor of our state, for her commitment to expand Medicaid.

We are in the middle of a maternal mortality crisis.

And, you know, when the congressman voted for those Medicaid cuts, the largest in history, he knew that 50% of all births in our state are covered by Medicaid.

He still voted for him.

And as a result, a labor and delivery unit in his own district had to shut down.

Talk about our maternal mortality crisis.

This is also a congressman who supports a total ban on abortion, with no exceptions.

Even if the mother will die for lack of health care.

And I bet he'll try to change his position right now.

But it was right here on this stage four years ago when he said a total ban, with no exceptions.

Is that still your position?

Thank you.

Your answer to Faith Jessie question.

Yes, ma'am.

You know, we need to we need to make sure that we dedicate all the money necessary to give these mothers the help that they need, period.

We need to make sure that and we do.

We've got great health care here in this country.

You're going to continue to see just true advancements with the with the onset of AI out there.

But the problem with the Medicaid expansion that Jon Ossoff is talking about, he voted for that.

He voted for that back in the Biden administration.

And they made it sunset.

If it was so good, he should have made it permanent.

But those those were subsidies for the pandemic.

He could have fixed that right then, but he didn't.

And the other thing that I want to say is, you know, he voted against the $50 billion that we put out there for rural hospitals.

I brought in $200 million here in the state of Georgia to help our rural hospitals.

And the reason that they're suffering, the reasons they're going down is because of Obamacare, that Affordable Care Act that really wasn't affordable at all because I was in the private sector.

I know what it felt like that first year.

We had.

To go.

32nd rebuttal, please.

All you're getting Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act mixed up.

Despite reading from your notes.

But it was four years ago on this stage when you said you wanted to ban abortion, with no exceptions.

Take a look at this man.

He believes that if you are in a late term pregnancy and you risk hemorrhaging to death or irrevocable injury, you must not be able to terminate that pregnancy.

That's what he said.

Let's see if he tries to change his position tonight.

30s I've been pro-life all my life forever.

I also believe that the Georgia legislature got it right, that the governor and the legislature allow for three exceptions with a heinous rape or incest, or in the life of the mother.

But my opponent, Jon Ossoff, is completely the opposite.

He's all for abortion.

Up to and past birth.

You talk about extreme.

That's Jon Ossoff and his position on abortion.

30s Mike, I support the standard of privacy that was established in Roe v Wade.

You supported a ban with no exceptions.

I want everybody who's clipping this debate for television news across Georgia and online tonight to roll that tape.

You stood here right on this stage and you said a total ban, no exceptions, even for rape, even for incest, even to save the mother's life.

That was your position.

And now you're changing it.

One last time.

30s.

Yeah, they need to roll that tape back because it said, without exception.

That means without exception, my entire life I have been pro-life.

I believe that the Supreme Court got it right when they remanded it back to the state.

It's also out there on video that I have constantly said that I believe the Georgia legislature got it right, too, that that the governor and the legislature here, that allows for the exception under rape or incest or the life of the mother.

But my opponent, he's definitely for abortion all the way up.

Thank you.

We're going to move on, sir.

Greg, it's your turn to ask a question.

Yeah.

This next question is for both of you gentlemen.

But starting with you, Congressman Collins, about federal spending.

The federal government continues to run enormous deficits.

Name one federal program that you would cut or reduce spending on to help bring that deficit down.

Yeah.

You know, Greg, it would help if we looked at doing our job up there, not just one program, but if we would get back to just doing the we don't have a very hard job description up there.

We don't pass our appropriation bills.

If you don't pass your appropriation bills, you don't bring these federal agencies in and call them in on the carpet, and you don't get to cross out and, and cut their budgets.

And when we continuously just pass omnibus bills and, and continuous resolutions, there's no accountability.

We just throw a check out there and say, see you next year.

There's plenty of waste, fraud and abuse, waste, fraud and abuse and Medicaid and Medicare.

You've seen that in Minnesota.

So we've got to continue to get rid of the waste, fraud, and abuse.

We've got to continue to do our jobs with appropriations.

Thank you.

I thought it was.

Well, we can immediately save tens of billions of taxpayer dollars by ending this disastrous war in Iran, a war that's based on lies, a war that Mike Collins has continued to defend all night, even as he insists, falsely, that gas prices are in fact, coming down.

But, Mike, you want to talk about waste, fraud and abuse?

How about a congressional office under federal investigation for the illegal misuse of tax dollars?

You've tried to dismiss this over and over and over again.

I want folks to hear what the Office of Congressional Conduct said.

This is a nonpartisan body.

In fact, there are Georgia Republicans who sit on it.

They said, quote, several witnesses expressed to the Office of Congressional Conduct concerns about possible retaliation for their cooperation with the investigation of Congressman Collins.

Yes or no?

Will you testify?

Representative Collins 32nd rebuttal.

Georgia.

Here's the truth.

The Office of Congressional Conduct is a group of lawyers that Nancy Pelosi put in place when she was the speaker.

They're not even my peers.

They're not elected members of Congress.

The Ethics Committee makes up and is made up by members of Congress.

We have fully complied with them.

It's a nothing burger.

This is this is just a hit job, political hit job.

And the Democrats are keeping it going just so that he can continue to talk about everything except for his record of why he has made our life less safe.

Thank you.

So much.

More expensive.

Thank you very much.

Faith, it's your turn to ask a question.

One of the candidates.

Thank you.

Donna.

Congressman Collins, my next question is for you.

If elected, you will serve alongside Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock, who of course, represents the same families here in Georgia.

What specific legislation would you commit to crossing the aisle and working with the senator on within the first 100 days, even if it means breaking from President Trump and your party?

You know, I don't have a specific legislation out there, but you can look at the pieces of legislation that I've passed.

Georgia.

I mean, think about this.

I've had two pieces of legislation that were passed and signed into law by two presidents of two different parties, and they were both bipartisan.

And as a matter of fact, I had over 46 Democrats that went with me on the Laken Riley act at second time over 30, the first time.

I don't mind working with anybody.

I don't care if you're a Republican, Democrat, independent.

I'll be for a dog if they'll bark for my policy.

But we've got to continue to make sure that we set this up.

The reason I went to Congress in the first place was to make sure that the next generation has the opportunities that I had, because they don't have them right now, because the people like Jon Ossoff, who's out there taking away childcare credit, who's out there taking away he wanted he voted against school choice moms.

Think about that.

He didn't have to worry about that.

But you do.

And you deserve to have your child's education to be the best.

Thank you.

Back to you, Greg.

Senator Ossoff, if Democrats controlled Congress and the White House, would you support adding justices to the Supreme Court's bench to change the court's ideological balance?

Greg, I don't rule out any judicial reform, but I think we have to take the long view whenever we consider anything like that.

And I think our focus should be a binding code of ethics for Supreme Court justices, because the American public is rightly offended when they see Supreme Court justices accepting lavish gifts from people who have business before the court, or from people who have a record of ideological or partisan advocacy.

We also need a much stronger code of ethics in the United States.

Congress, and that includes Congressman Mike Collins, who continues to deflect day after day in debate after debate about the federal investigation of his office for the illegal misuse of tax dollars.

Here's something else the Office of Congressional Conduct said.

They said Congressman Collins refused to cooperate and recommended he be subpoenaed.

If you're subpoenaed, will you testify?

30s you know, let's continue down the list here.

Let's continue down the list about how you've made our life more expensive, because I think the people of the state of Georgia need to know that, because all you do is deflect.

Let's talk about high taxes.

You voted for the largest tax increase in U.S.

History.

You voted for that Biden nomics that Green New Deal you voted against s corporations.

You voted against every small business, every farmer in this state.

When you voted to, to not allow 100% depreciation on on new equipment.

Thank you.

32nd rebuttal.

You didn't answer the question.

You talk about deflection.

It's a very simple question.

Look, the Office of Congressional Conduct has recommended that you be subpoenaed because you, quote, refused to cooperate in a federal investigation of your own office.

I think it's the fourth time tonight.

It's a very simple question.

If you are, in fact, subpoenaed by the House Ethics Committee, why can you not just commit once and for all to testify in the investigation?

Yes or no?

Will you testify?

Answer your voters, Mike.

32nd rebuttal.

The Office of Congressional Conduct sends it to the Ethics Committee, and I have fully committed, fully complied with the Ethics Committee.

Anything they got to ask, they're more than welcome to ask me.

As a matter of fact, I encourage them.

Go ahead, release the files, because this is a nothing burger.

It is a hit job.

You see that?

That's why he stays on that.

That's why he doesn't want to talk about things like our active military, our veterans, that he has continuously lied to you on, his stance on where he has been out there, even held a press conference talking about how he he took credit for military increases when he lies about that.

Thank you, Representative Collins Faith.

Thank you so much.

Donna.

Another question.

Congressman Collins, I do have another question for you.

We've had some horrific shootings here in Georgia, including school shootings and shootings that we talk about every day on the news.

Will you commit to supporting federal background checks for private firearm sales if you're elected?

No, we have plenty of checks right now, and we need to we need to continue to make sure that we protect our Second Amendment.

We also need to make sure that we protect our students.

They deserve to be able to go to to school and not be worrying about somebody coming in and shooting them.

There's numerous ways that we can do that.

You know, whether it's metal detectors at the at the entrance.

I mean, you've got to go through a metal detector to get into the airport, and that's to get on a plane.

But we don't want to do that for our kids and our children out there.

I'll give you another example of things that we can do to protect our children out there.

What about former military, our veterans out there, they're always looking for another mission.

They would love to be out there to help and make sure that our children have have easy access and safe access to their schools so that they can learn that they get the opportunity.

And that's the bad thing.

That's what I was talking about with School Choice Jon Ossoff.

He went to private schools.

He doesn't have to worry about that.

He went to elite Ivy schools in.

Thank you very much.

John Ossoff 32nd rebuttal.

The question was about background checks for firearm sales, court after court after court has found that background checks are constitutional.

This is like an 80/20 issue, Mike.

It's a simple background check before the sale or the transfer of a firearm.

He just said he opposes that.

Why?

Mike Collins 30s.

We already have background checks.

When you go into the store to buy a weapon, you have a background check.

I've got a concealed carry permit.

I know that for a fact.

John.

Thank you very much.

Greg.

You can ask a question.

Yeah.

This question is for both of you.

Senator Ossoff you first as artificial intelligence replaces more tasks performed by human workers, what should Congress do to protect Americans whose jobs are threatened?

It is a vital issue, Greg.

It is perhaps the most complex and important legislative question of our time.

And here are a few things that we need to do right now.

We need federal inspectors inside these frontier labs to report honestly and transparently to the federal government.

What's happening without requiring or relying upon voluntary disclosure from the Frontier labs.

We need to be fortifying the nation against the threat of bioterrorism.

That's one of the most significant threats that we face.

And 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.

But speaking of artificial intelligence, the same bill that slashed Medicaid, the same bill that allowed your health insurance premiums to double included a $70 billion tax break for data center developers.

Mike didn't answer last week if he'll commit to repeal it.

It's a simple question, Mike, will you commit to repealing the $70 billion tax break for data center?

Thank you.

Representative Collins, your answer to Greg's question.

Yeah, I think I got it down from from you, Greg.

I was trying to write that pretty fast.

Listen, we're in a race.

We're in a race with China for AI.

It's coming.

It's it's already here.

We need to make sure that that it's for the good, though.

And the problem is there's a lot of bad actors out there.

And anything that you have, anything that you do.

So we've got to make sure that, first of all, that the bad actors are held accountable.

But before we even get there, we need to make sure that that these data centers are not harming the local infrastructure, like the water and electricity they need to pay for the infrastructure.

And if you want a data center and you're in your area, I'm going to help you get it.

And if you don't, I'll make sure that you don't get it.

Thank you very much.

We are.

I'm going to ask a question.

I know we've talked about the affordability issue, a little bit of the grocery store, gas pump housing.

People are feeling the affordability pinch.

I'd like each one of you to tell me what your plan is to help Georgians when it comes to this.

And we'll begin with you, Senator Ossoff.

Thank you.

Donna, look, first things first.

We're going to repeal the tariffs that have driven grocery prices to their record high.

We're going to end the disastrous war in Mike Collins supported.

That has triggered a global energy crisis and driven diesel to its all time high.

And we're going to repeal the Medicaid cuts and the cuts that allowed health insurance premiums to double for more than 1 million Georgians.

It's the same bill that cut Medicaid, that took that money from your health care and gave it to data center developers.

You just heard Mike Collins say that data center developers should pay their own way.

Then why did you vote to give them $70 billion of taxpayer funding?

And will you commit to repealing that provision?

Thank you.

A representative of Collins.

Your answer to your plan for affordability?

Yes, ma'am.

You know, we're going to continue down the road of energy independence.

That's the number one thing that we can do is make sure that we we produce our own products right here, and then we don't have to depend on, on all these foreign countries that hate us to send us their oil or their finished products, things that we haven't we haven't built a refinery in over 50 years.

Thank goodness the Trump administration fast tracked that the Baytown, Texas refinery so that we can do that.

We've got to get health care under control.

Folks are struggling with health care, Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act has been a disaster.

I know the first year that Obamacare was enacted, my insurance went up 60-2 percent.

We've got to get back to where health care is, is meant for the patient, that they have control over it, not these health insurances that are getting rich out there off our backs.

Thank you very much, gentlemen.

That is all the time we have for questions.

Now, the candidates will have 60s for a closing statement.

And Mike Collins, we will start with you.

Oh, okay.

I thought we went backwards.

Yeah, we're going to we're going to you first.

Okay.

All right.

You know, George, I wish we could have spent more time debating our record and debating our results, but Jon Ossoff, he can't do that.

You see, while I delivered the largest tax cuts in U.S.

History.

Brought home more than $200 million for Georgia rural hospitals and wrote the law, the Laken Riley act, which has removed over 20,000 illegal criminals from our streets.

Jon Ossoff worked against us.

I mean, he spent his time in Washington focused on on how he could defund our greatest ally, Israel, how he could block our farmers from getting that critical aid, all to just try to defund Border Patrol and Ice and how he could impress his donors that who don't even care about our state or represent our values.

You see, Jon Ossoff is a man who doesn't care about Georgia.

He's just telling us these things because he's using this as a platform.

Georgians are hard working people, and we deserve a senator that will work as hard as us, for us.

And I need your help.

I need your vote.

Y'all send me to the Senate and I'll continue to deliver.

I'll deliver for us.

Thank you very much.

We are ready for your closing statement, Senator.

Well, Donna, first of all, thank you for moderating.

Thank you to our panelists.

Thank you to the Atlanta Press Club and Georgia Public Broadcasting.

Most of all, thank you to the people of the great state of Georgia for the privilege of representing you in the Senate.

And I want you to know that I will always stand up to powerful interests on your behalf.

When state officials here were denying the abuse of foster kids in Georgia, I investigated it.

I exposed it, and then I passed a bipartisan bill to crack down on child trafficking.

When drug companies were ripping Georgians off for insulin, I stood up to the pharmaceutical industry and capped the cost of insulin at $35 on Medicare.

And when big tech companies were allowing child predators to run rampant on their platforms, I wrote and passed a bipartisan law forcing them to report child predators to the authorities.

Early voting opened today.

You can find your polling place at iwillvote.com.

I hope I've earned your support and thank you so much.

Thank you.

Early voting is underway and runs through Friday, October 30th.

Election day is Tuesday, November 3.

We thank all the candidates and our panel of journalists.

We'd also like to thank the Atlanta Press Club and Georgia Public Broadcasting for arranging today's debate.

I'm Donna Lowry, thanks for joining us for the Atlanta Press Club.

Loudermilk-Young Debate Series.