Read the full transcript from the U.S. Senate debate between Jon Ossoff, Mike Collins

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — The U.S. Senate debate between Incumbent Jon Ossoff and challenger Mike Collins was held Thursday night on Atlanta News First.

>> FULL DEBATE: Watch the full Georgia U.S. Senate debate

Below is the full transcript from the debate:

Rick Folbaum (moderator): This is Debate Night Live, the race for Senate. Hosted by Gray Media and Atlanta News First. Tonight, with just days until the polls open across Georgia, the first meeting of the two candidates at the top of the ballot in Georgia, Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff and Republican Congressman Mike Collins. We’re broadcasting live across the state from Gray Media-owned Assembly Studios in Doraville, DeKalb County.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Good evening. I’m Rick Folbaum, moderator of tonight’s U.S. Senate debate. The questions asked during tonight’s debate will come from a panel of Gray Media journalists representing every region across Georgia. Tonight’s broadcast will run 60 minutes with four segments, each about 15 minutes. In order to have a thoughtful and civil debate, these are the rules that both campaigns have agreed to. Panelists will ask their questions to one or both candidates. The candidates will be given 60 seconds to answer, with 30 seconds allowed for rebuttals at my discretion. We’ll begin with a 60-second opening statement, and we’ll end with a 60-second closing statement from each candidate. To read the complete debate rules, go to atlantanewsfirst.com/debate, and I will be here to enforce the rules tonight. We begin with opening statements from each of the candidates. We held a coin toss prior to the debate to decide who would go first. Congressman Collins won the toss and elected to have the final word tonight. Senator Ossoff, will you begin your opening statement?

Jon Ossoff: Well, Rick, thank you so much for bringing us together. Thanks to Gray Media and Congressman. Good to be here with you. Democrats, independents, and Republicans are uniting behind my Senate campaign, just like we united Georgians to cap the cost of insulin at $35, to take on big tech companies and force them to report online predators who target our kids. And tonight, a united Georgia will hear the trial of Mike Collins. Mike Collins has brought dishonor to our state through his personal bigotry and his widely documented ties to white nationalists. And he’s sold out Georgia in his pathetic, childlike devotion to Donald Trump, voting for the tariffs that have sent groceries soaring, voting for the health care cuts that have doubled your insurance premiums, and voting for the war that sent diesel to its record high. We’ll hear tonight if the congressman can defend those votes. I doubt he’ll have the courage to do so.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Thank you very much. Congressman Collins, your opening statement.

Mike Collins: Good evening. I’m Mike Collins, and I’m asking for your vote, because right now, Georgia doesn’t have a voice in the Senate. You see, Georgia’s where I built my business. It’s where I raised my family. It’s where I learned the hard lessons that helped me to deliver every day in Washington. But my opponent is a radical, and he has left our state less safe, more expensive, and worse off. He’s an extremist who’s voted for men to go in girls’ sports. He’s opposed the forgotten men and women who just want to keep more of their tips, their overtime, and their social security. In two years, I worked across the aisles to get two bills signed by two presidents of different parties. One, to fight these synthetic drugs that are killing our kids. The other, the Lake and Riley Act that has removed over 20,000 illegal criminals from our streets. If you send me to the Senate, I’ll work with whoever I need to get results. And I won’t sell out our values doing it.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Gentlemen, thank you both. Let’s move on now to questions. The first one comes from Savannah’s WTOC anchor Mike Cihla. Mike.

Mike Cihla: Georgia families are stuck paying high prices for groceries, utilities, and everyday essentials. People are putting in the work, but still falling behind. Congressman Collins, if elected to the Senate, what is your plan to help families make ends meet? And Senator Ossoff, if Democrats take control of the Senate, what is your plan to bring immediate relief to Georgia families?

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Congressman, you have 60 seconds.

Mike Collins: Yes, first of all, let’s look back and see where this came from. My opponent voted for those Bidenomics that caused this historic inflation. Not just on gas, and gas is too high, and we’re bringing that down. But on everything that you purchase out there. He’s the one that voted for that Green New Deal. He doesn’t want your gas to go down. He doesn’t even want you having gasoline automobiles. He wants you riding on mass transit. But what we need to do is continue to make sure that we become energy independent here. We continue to make sure that young people have opportunities. Make sure that that port down there is widened and deepened in Savannah so that we can bring goods in as well as export goods out for other countries.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Senator Ossoff, excuse me, you have 60 seconds.

Jon Ossoff: These tariffs are crushing our state. And we’ll repeal those tariffs. And I’d like to hear the Congressman explain why he voted for them over and over and over again. It costs more today than at any time in American history to stock your fridge, to fill up your truck, to power your home. Diesel is up 70 percent since Donald Trump was elected president. Ground beef and coffee are up 30 percent. These tariffs have crushed families and small businesses and Georgia agriculture. The war in Iran has sent gas prices near their all-time high. Unleaded, it’s $4 in Georgia. Diesel’s $6 in Georgia. Coastal Georgia relies on trade. I’d like to hear the Congressman right now explain to Georgia voters how these tariffs are helping us.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Thank you, gentlemen. I just want to remind you both of the rules that your campaigns have agreed to. The candidates will not ask questions of each other. Those questions will come from our journalists here. And the next question comes from anchor Roslyn Giles with WTVM in Columbus.

Roslyn Giles: Thank you, Rick. Congressman Collins, you’ve pointed to the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act, which Senator Ossoff voted for as the root cause of inflation. But that law passed four years ago. Last year, you voted for the Working Families Tax Cut Act, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill. Can you point to one measurable outcome from that bill that’s helping alleviate cost-of-living concerns for Georgians?

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Congressman, 60 seconds.

Mike Collins: Yes, ma’am. You know, I believe in keeping more money in the private sector, in people’s pockets. That one bill allowed families to keep over $3,000 a year. Childcare credit wasn’t gone... it didn’t go away. They kept that. 100% depreciation on equipment, on capitalized equipment. Those things funneled back into our economy and caused this economy to grow. That Bidenomics, that Green New Deal that my opponent voted for, that’s where all this inflation came from. We’ve got to continue to give back to energy independence. The first thing that the Biden administration and my opponent and the Democrats did was kill the Keystone Pipeline. That alone would have helped keep this energy cost down. But he didn’t. You know, instead, he wanted to keep the borders wide open so that we had fentanyl coming across this border. No one has ever asked or held Jon Ossoff accountable for any of his votes, or the reasons why. Why did he... I had to write a bill to fight these synthetic drugs, because he left that border open and allowed this stuff to just funnel into our country, killing these young people.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Congressman, thank you.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Senator Ossoff, you voted against the big, beautiful bill. What is your plan to bring financial relief to Georgians?

Jon Ossoff: We’re going to repeal the tariffs. We’re going to end this disastrous war in Iran. We’re going to repeal those Medicaid cuts that have defunded hospitals and nursing homes across Georgia. If you want to understand whether the Trump-Collins budget has helped you, just go fill up a tank of gas. Go to the grocery store. Try to buy food for your kids. Look at your electric bill this week. Look at your health insurance premiums. They’ve doubled for more than a million Georgians, the predictable results of these disastrous policies. And, Rick, I’m not asking the Congressman a question. I’m making a statement. Georgia voters deserve to know why he voted over and over and over again for those tariffs. Georgia voters deserve an explanation. How have these tariffs helped us? That’s a question that Congressman Collins should answer right now if he has the courage to do so. Let’s hear it.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Thank you, Senator.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Congressman Collins, Republicans’ campaign on cutting wasteful Washington spending. But the Congressional Budget Office reported just tonight the federal deficit climbed to $2 trillion this past fiscal year, up more than $200 billion from last year. If tax cuts and deregulation are the answer, why is the national debt and the federal deficit continuing to balloon on your party’s watch?

Mike Collins: You know, tax cuts are the answer to keeping more money back in people’s pockets. That, in turn, when you keep money in the private sector, it turns over another five, six, seven times. And what that does, what does that do? That creates more taxes. More tax-paying people. And businesses grow. But my opponent doesn’t get that. My opponent’s a trust fund kid who’s never had a job in his life. He doesn’t understand that. He doesn’t understand business. That’s okay. And as we continue to become more independent, as we continue to make sure that we have a fair shot for America, it should be America first. We have bowed down to the rest of this world and took it from companies or countries charging us tariffs over and over again. We shouldn’t be doing that. We should set it up to where we have the advantage. And you should always have America first. You know, but I think that people in this state need to know some things about my opponent. Why he left that border wide open.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Congressman, I’m going to have to stop you there.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): We’ll get to that. I want to give Senator Ossoff a chance at a rebuttal. There were some charges leveled at you. You have 30 seconds.

Jon Ossoff: Well, the question was about the stewardship of tax dollars. And as we stand here today, Rick, Congressman Mike Collins is under federal investigation for the illegal misuse of tax dollars, for illegally funneling public money to his violent staffer’s girlfriend. And he refused to testify in that matter. The Office of Congressional Conduct had to recommend that he be subpoenaed. We haven’t gotten an answer on the tariffs. I’d like an answer why he refused to testify.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Congressman Collins, you have 30 seconds for a rebuttal there.

Mike Collins: That ethics complaint is bogus. Anybody can file one. It is a nothing burger. It is election season. And my opponent, the Democrats, they wanted to ride this thing through the election. As a matter of fact, I look forward to the day. They need to release all of that. Go ahead and release. The ethics committee needs to release the information and clear my name now. Because that’s all they’re doing. He can’t talk on his record, y’all. You don’t hear him talk about his record. All he wants to do is slander and try to slam me.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Senator Ossoff, you criticize Republican tax cuts for driving up the debt. But during your first two years in Washington, you voted for trillions of dollars in spending as the national debt climbed past $31 trillion. If debt is a threat to our economic future, why did you vote to expand it when your party controlled the budget?

Jon Ossoff: Thank you so much for the question, Rick. Look, one of the things that we did was pass the bipartisan infrastructure law to pull lead pipes out of drinking water systems across Georgia, expand broadband internet, upgrade every seaport and airport in the state of Georgia. That’s the kind of program that supports our economic development. But right now, with this disastrous war in the Middle East, Congressman Collins voted seven times for the war in Iran. Seven times. With these tariffs crushing international trade, driving grocery prices to all-time highs, these healthcare cuts that have doubled health insurance premiums for more than a million Georgians, our economy is being strangled by Donald Trump and Mike Collins’ economic record. We’re now almost 12 minutes into this debate. We still haven’t heard an explanation of how the tariffs are helping Georgia families. Georgians deserve to know why someone who wants to serve them in the Senate voted over and over for these tariffs.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Thank you, Senator. Up next, anchor Will Rioux from WRDW in Augusta. Will.

Will Rioux: Well, this question is for both candidates. Georgia has lost 1.2 million acres of farmland since 1985. And farmers in East Georgia faced weather-related losses from Hurricane Helene. If elected, what farm bill priorities would you fight for to help family farms stay profitable and keep food prices stable for consumers?

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Senator Ossoff, you have 60 seconds.

Jon Ossoff: You know, just a couple weeks ago, the Republican chairman of Georgia’s Peanut Commission endorsed my campaign. I’ve delivered for Georgia farmers. When Georgia pecan growers came to me, they told me that India had put a 100 percent tariff on Georgia pecans. I got to work and got the Indians to cut that tariff by 70 percent. But right now, family farms in Georgia are getting crushed. A third of the world’s fertilizer flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Diesel prices are at their all-time high in American history. Under Mike Collins and Donald Trump, it costs more than ever to buy a tractor for your farm or to plant an acre of cotton. We still haven’t heard an explanation for the tariffs. I’d like for the Congressman also to explain to the folks across Georgia how this disastrous war has been a success.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Congressman Collins, you have 60 seconds.

Mike Collins: Thank you. You know, agriculture is the number one industry in this state. And nobody works smarter or harder than our American farmer. And they deserve our help because a lot of times the playing field is not fair. We put them in bad situations. We sure do. We don’t produce our own stuff here. We don’t produce our own fertilizer here because they’ve been chased overseas and we had to import it. You know, when I think about our farmers and I look back, it was just this time last year. Last year, Jon Ossoff shut the government down for 48 days. He shut it down, y’all. Right when we were trying to get that emergency money out for Hurricane Helene so that our farmers and our small communities could repair and prepare for this year’s harvest. Oh no, he didn’t care about that. He shut it down because he wanted to defund Border Patrol and ICE. And, Georgia, we deserve to know why he left that border wide open so that child trafficking could come across that border. Thank goodness we didn’t shut our Border Patrol down in ICE.

Rick Folbaum (moderator):Thank you, sir.

Mike Collins: Because they have been out there collecting those young people.

Rick Folbaum (moderator):Thank you, sir.

Mike Collins: Getting them back to their families.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): I want to give the senator 30 seconds for a rebuttal.

Jon Ossoff: Well, the question was about Georgia agriculture. And if you go to South Georgia right now and you talk to any farmer in our state, they will tell you that diesel prices are crushing them. They will tell you that they are bearing the brunt of global retaliation for this trade war. These tariffs are crushing Georgia’s economy and they’re crushing Georgia agriculture. It’s the war and the tariffs destroying our farm economy and Georgians deserve answers from the congressman.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): That concludes our first segment.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Debate Night Live is just getting started. We will be right back with more questions and answers from Senator Jon Ossoff and Congressman Mike Collins.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Welcome back to Debate Night Live. Democratic incumbent Senator Jon Ossoff and Republican Congressman Mike Collins taking center stage in the race for U.S. Senate. Our next question comes from Atlanta News First statewide reporter, Abby Kousouris. Abby.

Abby Kousouris: Rural hospitals across Georgia are on the financial edge. In Hawkinsville, Taylor Regional asked for a city loan just to stay afloat. And doctors are reportedly leaving for Warner Robins, more than an hour away. If you’re elected, what is one specific action you’ll take to keep ERs like Taylor Regionals open statewide?

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Senator Ossoff, you have 60 seconds.

Jon Ossoff: We’re going to repeal the disastrous Medicaid cuts that Mike Collins voted to pass. Look, when you all elected me to the Senate, I took on the drug companies to cap the cost of insulin at $35. Mike Collins and Donald Trump passed the biggest Medicaid cut in history. A hospital in Mike Collins’ own district had to shut down its labor and delivery unit, citing those Medicaid cuts. How can a sitting congressman vote to shut down a labor and delivery unit in his own district? Delivering mothers in Mike Collins’ district now have to drive an hour to get to a labor and delivery unit while they’re in labor, when we already have a maternal mortality crisis. Not to mention, health insurance premiums have doubled for more than a million Georgians. 300,000 have lost their insurance altogether. And Georgians deserve an explanation why the congressman voted to double your health insurance premiums.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Congressman Collins, you have 60 seconds.

Mike Collins: Yeah, a lot to unpack here. Rural hospitals, major problems. That’s why in the bill, the working families tax cut plan, we put $218 billion in there for rural hospitals. 93 million of us have already been submitted to Georgia through 87 counties. You know, the problem is, and Jon Ossoff won’t understand this because he doesn’t have to worry about health care. He doesn’t have to worry about trying to buy health care insurance for his family. He never will. But the problem started way back under Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act. Y’all, I was in the private sector then. I remember that first year, my insurance going up 62%. And from that day forward, I saw our rural hospitals start to close or swap over to swing beds because they couldn’t handle the mandates that were being pushed on them. When you let the federal government take over health care, which is what, at the end of the day, Jon Ossoff wants to do to you, then this is what you get. You get high insurance, inflated prices, and you get hospitals that are closing every day.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Thank you, Congressman. Senator, you have 30 seconds.

Jon Ossoff: You know what’s tragic about this is that we were warned. The Congressional Budget Office warned us that if they passed this bill, health insurance premiums would skyrocket, that if they passed this bill, rural hospitals would have to close down services. It’s a hospital in your own district, Mike, and now a delivering mother has to drive an hour to get to a facility where she can deliver safely. It’s a disgrace. You still haven’t explained it, and you haven’t explained why you voted to double your own constituents’ health insurance premiums.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Congressman, 30 seconds for a report.

Mike Collins: 30 seconds is all... The Affordable Care Act is what has caused your insurance to go sky high. Our premiums have gone through the roof, and the coverage has gone through the floor. John would never understand that, though. I get it. He doesn’t. He doesn’t have to worry about paying for that. But I have been out there with my rural hospitals. That’s why he voted against giving these hospitals that much-needed money. If anybody should answer for anything, Jon Ossoff should answer for why he was not willing to help out these rural hospitals survive. Because what happens is, if you don’t have rural hospitals in these rural hospitals... Congressman, we’re out of time. You won’t have... I’d like to respond. Congressman, we’re out of time. We’re going to stay on this topic, gentlemen. I want to go to Rosalyn. Is that all we need to do, is just raise our hands and...

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Excuse me. Pardon me, sir. We’re going to move on to the next question. Roslyn Giles has it. Go ahead, Rosalyn.

Roslyn Giles: Senator Ossoff, you voted to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies nine times. But what is your plan to lower the underlying cost of care and insurance premiums, not just subsidize existing costs? It requires price transparency.

Jon Ossoff: It also requires Medicaid expansion here in Georgia. It’s why we need a Medicaid-expanding Governor Keisha Lance Bottoms here in Georgia to address our state’s health care emergency. But what you’re talking about are the Affordable Care Act benefits that Congressman Mike Collins voted to let lapse. And again, we were warned. Members of Congress, like Mike, they knew exactly what that vote would do to you. So when you get home and you get that letter from your insurance company, and you just came from the grocery store where you couldn’t buy ground beef for your kids because of the tariffs, and you could only fill up half a tank of gas because of the war, and you open the notice from your insurance company and your premiums have doubled, this man is responsible for that. And he still refuses tonight to explain why he voted to double your health insurance premiums. And I think that’s disqualifying for a candidate for U.S. Senate. Let’s see if he has the courage to explain his votes.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Senator, thank you.

Mike Collins: Congressman Collins, what is your plan to lower the underlying cost of care and insurance premiums? Yeah, you know, when you talk about these subsidies, the only people getting rich on these subsidies are our health insurance carriers out there. We’ve seen their stock go through the roof thousands of percent. What we need to do is make sure that there is more transparency. We need to make sure that people pay a fair price for drugs. That’s drugs. The Trump RX is doing a great job with that. You also need to make sure that we’re most favored nation status with pricing. We’re not subsidizing the rest of the world with our drug prices out there. But you talk about these Medicaid subsidies. All that was passed under the Biden administration with Jon Ossoff. That was to cover the COVID, the COVID period. If they wanted it permanent, they could have voted for it right then. But they didn’t. And that’s because they realize, they know this, that all that ever happens is, the only people that get subsidized are our insurance companies, and they make more money off of you and me while our insurance coverage goes down.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): We have a lot of ground to cover.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): We’re going to move on to the next question, Mike Cihla from WTOC.

Mike Cihla: Well, this question is for both candidates. Massive new data center projects are receiving a lot of backlash, including the proposed $20 billion open AI facility in Effingham County. They require immense amounts of energy and water. How will you ensure that the massive strain on our power grid does not result in higher monthly utility bills for Georgia families and small businesses?

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Congressman Collins, 60 seconds.

Mike Collins: Yeah, sure. You know, I’ve said this from the beginning, I’m very much in favor of local control, local people know what needs to be in their communities and what doesn’t. And we need to make sure that their infrastructure is not destroyed, that either that’s electric or water. They know that. If you want a data center in your area, when I’m in the U.S. center, I’ll help you fight to get one. If you don’t, I’ll help make sure that you don’t get that. But you know what? Jon Ossoff, he’s got his major donor, one of his mega donors, his data center billionaire Reid Hoffman, also one of Epstein’s buddies out there, has funneled money into his campaign. He’s got to answer to those people. He doesn’t have to answer to local people.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Senator Ossoff, you have 60 seconds.

Jon Ossoff: First of all, no Georgia family or small business should pay a dime more to subsidize the energy consumption of these data centers. No local community should have these data centers imposed on them. But that same budget bill we’ve been discussing all night, the one that slashed Medicaid, the one that doubled your health insurance premiums, it also gave $70 billion of your money to data center developers. Just think about this, when you are paying more for your health insurance, when a hospital in your community is closing down, Mike Collins voted to take that money out of your pocket and out of your community and give it instead to data center developers. And that’s the problem, Mike. Mike, it’s not just that you’ve hired half the Third Reich to staff your congressional office and you have promoted neo-Nazi content online. It’s that you’re robbing your constituents to subsidize your donors. I want to know if you will commit to voting to repeal that data center tax scam that you voted for. What’s your answer?

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Congressman, 30 seconds.

Mike Collins: Rick, you know, I’m all for the ratepayer protection plan. We need to make sure that whatever happens, that those local communities don’t take an impact. These data centers need to pay. They need to make sure that they support the communities that they’re going in. And we’re seeing that and we’re seeing good results from that. But where they don’t need to be, the people don’t want them, they don’t need to be there. But you talk about data center developers getting money. My goodness, Reid Hoffman. Reid Hoffman, a big billionaire data center developer, turned around and funneled money right into Jon Ossoff’s campaign. Maxed out to him and then put over a million dollars.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Thank you, sir. We’re going to move on to the next question. We’re going to move on to the next question from Telemundo Atlanta anchor, Adhemar Montagne.

Ademar Montagne: Thank you, Rick. Senator Ossoff, police use automated license plates readers across Georgia. What federal privacy guardrails must exist to prevent unwarranted tracking?

Jon Ossoff: Thank you so much for the question. We urgently need a federal privacy law to protect our privacy from big tech companies who spy on us on our phones and social media, to protect us from flock cameras that are being improperly accessed by folks who are using that information to target innocent people. Artificial intelligence makes it even more important that we pass a federal privacy law. But I don’t know if you saw, just this week Donald Trump said he likes Flock cameras. He wants them everywhere. He wants you to be spied on. He doesn’t care about your privacy. He put a flock camera on every block if he could. Maybe tonight, Mike Collins will have the courage to buck the president on this. Does he agree with Donald Trump that we want flock cameras everywhere? Or will he join me in demanding respect for Americans’ privacy and constitutional rights?

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Congressman, I’d like to give you 30 seconds to respond.

Mike Collins: Uh, yeah, I thought I had a minute.

Mike Collins: All right, all right, okay. Well, anyway, yes. This is everybody on your 30 seconds. Uh, flock cameras. Uh, if they’re being abused, they shouldn’t be out there. And they are being abused. If we’re going to use them, then we need to have a warrant to access that information. Uh, otherwise, we don’t need the flock camera system. I’m a firm believer in privacy laws out there and protecting your private rights. But, uh, you know, I think that the senator has a lot to answer for, too. You know, he’s still yet to answer for farmers on why he shut this government down, right when they needed that Hurricane Helene money.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Congressman, thank you. Our next question comes from reporter Moriah Norman with WALB in Albany.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Mariah.

Moriah Norman: This question is for Congressman Collins. There are safety concerns with artificial intelligence, but AI also leads to tech growth here in Georgia and nationally. How would you balance regulation of AI while allowing Georgians and Americans to benefit from this emerging technology?

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Congressman Collins, now you have 60 seconds. Yeah, thank you.

Mike Collins: I got it now. Uh, yeah, sure. We’re in a race with AI. We’re in a race against China for AI. You know, what China actually wants is domination over the entire world. It doesn’t matter if it’s economically. It doesn’t matter if it’s military. It just... Whatever. And to have the potential that AI can provide for Americans, and it already is, is great. But we need to make sure that we protect our citizens. We need to make sure that there’s not an overreach with these AI centers that are out there. And make sure that they’re not... they’re not prying on you and spying on you. Uh, that it... that what happens is what they need to do, and that’s make our life, uh, more efficient and more productive.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Thank you, Congressman.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): And candidates, that’s all for this particular segment. We are going to move on after a quick break. Debate Night Live continues right after this. Welcome back to the U.S. Senate debate between Republican Congressman Mike Collins and incumbent Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff. The next question is for you, Senator. Yesterday was the three-year mark since the October 7th terror attack in Israel. Israel’s response has led to a major divide in your party, with many prominent Democrats accusing Israel of committing genocide. You yourself voted to block a shipment of arms to Israel, seen by many in Atlanta’s Jewish community as a betrayal. Do you believe Israel is guilty of committing genocide? Are you alarmed by the growing anti-Israel sentiment within your party? And will you vote yes or no on the administration’s latest $2.8 billion weapons package for Israel? And you have 60 seconds.

Jon Ossoff: Thank you, Rick. The question of genocide is a question of whether a government has the specific intent to destroy a national or ethnic group. And that is a question for the International Criminal Court. There is no doubt in my mind that Israeli forces prosecuting the war in Gaza violated the law of armed conflict and international humanitarian law. And I care deeply about the security of the Israeli people, among whom are members of my family. I also care about innocent Palestinian life and make no apology for my votes. But Congressman Mike Collins wants to sanction and defund the International Criminal Court. His view is that there should not be accountability for crimes against humanity, no matter who commits them. And that’s because the congressman is deeply disconnected from our state’s tradition of civil rights and human rights.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Thank you, Senator. Congressman Collins, I’d like to give you 30 seconds to respond.

Mike Collins: Yeah, you know, I think I’m putting this puzzle together pretty good for you. You know, old Jon Ossoff has been out there and recruited, supported, and endorsed this Abdul El-Sayed. He hates Israel, loves Iran. That’s his pick. He’s moved as far left as he can go. As a matter of fact, it’s Hassan Piker. Also, the same way. He’s out there, and he’s endorsed Jon Ossoff for president for 2028. So that’s where his stance is. Don’t let him fool you. He talks one way, and he votes another way.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Congressman Collins...

Jon Ossoff: I need to have the opportunity to respond to that.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Excuse me, Senator. I’m sorry. Congressman Collins, your opponent rarely mentions your name without calling you a bigot. Though many feel you have not adequately addressed the fact that your son-in-law is a white supremacist social media influencer, and several members of your staff have been linked to racism and anti-Semitism. Take Georgia voters to your family dinner table. What specifically have you said to your daughter and son-in-law about his posts? And will you, once and for all, denounce white supremacy? You have 60 seconds.

Mike Collins: You know, Rick, that’s my family. That’s the craziness that Jon Ossoff has been spewing out there. I actually had a crazy person get put in jail this weekend, because he not only wanted to kill my son-in-law, but he wanted to kill me. And you’re exactly right. I’ve got a daughter and grandkids there, as well as my wife. I’ve condemned racism, anti-Semitism, hate. I don’t care where the source is. And I tell him that, too. It’s wrong. We have no place in this world for that. But I’ve never heard him say a word about his DSA pick up there, Abdul El Saeed, Hassan Piker. How about Reid Hoffman? None of those. He doesn’t denounce anybody or anything or condemn them, because he’s part of them. But yet he wants to take that and spew that on me. That’s not me. When I had things happen, I’m a businessman. I fired them. I got rid of them. Don’t need them.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Senator, 30 seconds.

Jon Ossoff: Imagine running for the U.S. Senate while neo-Nazi propaganda is disseminated to an audience of millions from your home. That’s Mike Collins. And it’s not just those around him. Mike Collins himself has amplified neo-Nazi propaganda online. Mike Collins’ office intervened at the Department of Justice on behalf of a Holocaust denier while his office was in cahoots with some of the nation’s most notorious white supremacists. Mike Collins is a bigot, and it’s disqualifying for a candidate for the U.S. Senate.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Congressman, 30 seconds.

Mike Collins: Yeah, imagine being a U.S. Senator and out there recruiting, endorsing, and supporting these people that want to see Israel wiped off the map, that would say that they would rather be for Iran than for Israel. Now, that’s who Jon Ossoff is supporting. He has yet to say anything about that. Just like Jon Ossoff has yet to say anything about why he voted to raise your taxes. He wanted to see your taxes double. Matter of fact, he wants to see all your taxes. At the end of it, what they’re looking for is to have control over your life. Why does he feel like that you don’t have to have your money in your pocket, that they can spend it better than you?

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Congressman, thank you very much. Atlanta News First statewide reporter Abby Kousouris has our next question. Abby.

Abby Kousouris: This question is for both of you. Georgia has been at the center of fights over voting rules and election administration. What voting rules should be left to Georgia to decide, and when, if ever, should the federal government step in?

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Senator, 60 seconds.

Jon Ossoff: Well, look, Georgia has voter ID, and that’s good. Mike Collins and Donald Trump, they’re still obsessed with overturning the 2020 election. Mike Collins still believes the 2020 election was stolen. Mike Collins has supported Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the election, and he wants to give your tax dollars to the violent thugs and criminals who sacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. Mike Collins is attacking your voting rights. But that’s not a surprise when you consider who Mike Collins is. This is a man who cheered on a group of young men who were mocking a black woman on a college campus with monkey sounds. If John Lewis were marching today from Selma to Montgomery, Mike Collins would be grabbing a billy club. His office has been in cahoots with some of the most notorious white supremacists on the country. He himself has amplified neo-Nazi propaganda. He’s never apologized for it, and he should tonight.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Congressman Collins, you have 60 seconds.

Mike Collins: Yeah, you know, I’ll say this. Voters need confidence. They need to know, y’all, we live in the best country in the world, and there’s no reason that we shouldn’t have the most secure elections in the world. Jon Ossoff has voted against the SAVE Act numerous times. Georgia, you’re right, has a voter ID law, and we’ve seen historic people, amounts of people that have voted since that has been in place, but we need that across the country. There’s no reason that you shouldn’t have to show an ID to go in and vote. My goodness, Jon Ossoff requires you to show an ID to show up at his rally, but he doesn’t think you need to do that to go vote. People will go vote when they have confidence in our elections. Until then, it is hard. And they just want to make sure that it is a fair, equitable election out there.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Congressman, thank you very much.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Mike Cihla is up next. Go ahead, Mike.

Mike Cihla: This question is for both candidates. How should the United States handle trade tariffs and economic competition with China without hurting Georgia’s manufacturing sector and the cargo volume at the port of Savannah?

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Congressman, 60 seconds.

Mike Collins: Yeah, you know, Savannah port and Brunswick port both have been on my mind. As a matter of fact, I’m chairman of the Water Resource Environment Subcommittee. One of the first things I did was go down to Brunswick and make sure that that place has not been fully dredged since 2015. Make sure that they got that done and they’ve gotten that. Now, we don’t have to bring in half loads or take out half of loads. Went up to Savannah and made sure that they got that study to where they could widen and deepen that. That is such a huge impact on the state of Georgia. And it’s causing where we’ll have an economic boom, not only just bringing goods in, but being able to ship goods out because the tariffs now are making it fair and making sure, just like the fellow I talked about with two days ago that said he was getting his brains beat in because China was bringing in the same goods he was manufacturing right here in Putnam County and he couldn’t compete with them because they don’t care if they don’t make money. See, Jon Ossoff doesn’t... he still won’t answer why he voted to raise your taxes and not let you keep more money.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Thank you, Congressman.

Mike Collins: He thinks the federal government is the answer.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Thank you, Congressman. Senator Ossoff, you have 60 seconds.

Jon Ossoff: Well, you just heard Mike Collins say the tariffs are working. Go buy groceries. No one in this state seriously believes these tariffs are working, Congressman. It’s been a disaster. And so has this war, a war, by the way, that we were lied into. They told us last year that they’d obliterated Iran’s nuclear program. This year, they told us it posed an imminent threat. So on top of the tariffs now, we have eight months of war, 18 Americans killed in action, hundreds wounded. Iran still has its uranium. Iran still has its drones and missiles. Diesel’s at an all-time high. unleaded gas is at $4. So we’ve heard from the Congressman that he thinks the tariffs are working. I think the Congressman deserves an opportunity to say whether he believes this war has been a success.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Thank you very much. Let’s move on. Will Rioux has the next question. Go ahead, Will.

Will Rioux: Senator Ossoff, you sit on the Senate Intelligence Committee. How do we counter foreign adversaries without triggering retaliatory trade embargoes on Georgia farm exports?

Jon Ossoff: Well, thank you for the question. And it is Georgia farmers who have been crushed by retaliation for these tariffs. I mentioned earlier that when Georgia pecan growers faced those massive Indian tariffs, I sat down seven times with India’s ambassador to the United States. I led a trade delegation. I got them to agree to reduce those tariffs. But as we speak right now, it’s Georgia farmers bearing the brunt of the Mike Collins, Donald Trump tariffs. Just like it’s Georgia farmers bearing the brunt of these high diesel prices. It costs more than ever to buy a tractor for your farm. Family farms are going under. And this also was predictable. Just like it was predictable that his votes would double health insurance premiums for more than a million Georgians, we knew what the consequences of these tariffs would be. And still, he voted for them. And I’ll tell you why. It’s because whatever Donald Trump says, Mike Collins does. Doesn’t matter what it is. Doesn’t think for himself. I’d like the congressman to say if there’s a single time he has voted against Donald Trump.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Thank you, Senator. Abby Kousouris has the next question for the congressman.

Abby Kousouris: This is a question for Congressman Collins, and it’s a long one, so bear with me. But after the Hyundai battery plant raid last year, Governor Kemp and business leaders said that the incident exposed a problem with the U.S. visa system and called for change. A year later, that system has largely remained the same. If you’re elected, what specifically would you change about the federal visa policy to make sure companies investing billions in Georgia can bring in specialized workers legally without creating a loophole for employers to replace American workers?

Rick Folbaum (moderator): 60 seconds, Congressman.

Mike Collins: Sure, you know, and here’s what I want the American people to know. There are so many parts of our federal government that are just antiquated. And the reason is, it’s because we don’t do our job up there. We don’t pass appropriation bills. And you don’t hold them accountable. And you don’t make the changes necessary. And that’s why you still see problems. We don’t go in and tell the federal government, you’ve got to fix it. And they just continue down the same road. We need people coming into our country. We need them coming in legally. You know, Jon Ossoff just mentioned on, on service members out there. You know, he comes to Georgia and he talks about, does, does press conferences on, on VA home mortgages, had nothing to do with that piece of legislation. He goes out and says that he, he helped get the pay raise for our current active military. No, he voted against that bill. He also said that he was responsible and voted for the, the infrastructure improvements at Fort Benning and Fort Stewart. He voted against that bill as well. He’s coming to Georgia. He’s telling you one thing and he’s going right back up there and he’s voting a different way.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Senator, 30 seconds.

Jon Ossoff: You know, when I talk to military families across the state, they want to know that their government is being honest with them about why we go to war. So let’s honor those service members as public officials and tell them the truth. This war has been a disaster. 18 Americans have been killed. Hundreds have been wounded. The president declared victory on day four of this conflict. You want to support the troops? Why don’t you explain to Georgians right now, Congressman, how this war has been a success? This is your chance.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Congressman, I’ll give you 30 seconds if you’d like to defend the war.

Mike Collins: The president had every right to go in there and make sure that Iran does not get a nuclear weapon. Jon Ossoff knows this. The IAEA, they had already sounded the bells, the alarms that Iran was close to getting a nuclear weapon. And the thing is, Iran doesn’t only want to decimate and kill Israel. They want us as well. We’ve been at war with this regime for 47 years. They’ve been killing American service members for 47 years. And they were this close to getting a nuclear weapon. And they would have used it. And we would have lost the cities.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Thank you, Congressman. Thank you, gentlemen. We’re going to take one more break. We will be right back with more questions and answers in this 2026 U.S. Senate debate.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Welcome back to Debate Night Live, the race for Senate. Our final segment begins with a question from Adhemar Montagne.

Adhemar Montagne: This is to both candidates. Immigrant households generate more than $52 billion in annual income and fill critical roles in Georgia’s agriculture, construction, and manufacturing industries. Analysts estimate large-scale deportations could cost nearly $930 million in state and local taxes. How do you secure our borders and deport violent offenders without starving Georgia’s farms and construction sites of needed labor?

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Congressman Collins, 60 seconds.

Mike Collins: Yeah, sure. You know, that border’s been secure. It is secure now, people. And lowest rates ever that’s coming across. And that’s the way it should be. You should come into this country legally, period. Do we need help? Yes, we do. You know, we need H-2A visas to be fixed. They need to be... It gets back to this federal bureaucracy. It needs to be improved to where it’s more efficient and more productive to get these people in and out. Illegal immigrants, though, that Jon Ossoff let into this country, not only were coming over here killing people and murdering people like Lake and Raleigh, and he wouldn’t shut the door on it. Human trafficking that he just let continue to flow. But they were also taking the jobs that young people, young Americans, could go out there and get. And hampering them. You want to give jobs? Give jobs to Americans. And then you’ll see your taxes continue to flow into this country, and all their paychecks won’t be going back to the country that they came from to support their families back here. They’ll support the young American families that are here.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Senator, 60 seconds.

Jon Ossoff: Georgians do expect and deserve secure borders, and that’s why I worked with Senator Cornyn of Texas to rush drug detection equipment to ports of entry. Georgians also expect their government to uphold basic standards of decency and human rights and civil rights. And what have we seen this last year and a half? You know, they promised to go after the worst of the worst. Instead, they’ve rounded up people at job sites with no suspicion of any criminal history. They’ve ripped breastfeeding infants from their mothers. They’ve unleashed federal agents to kill Americans on the streets of our cities with impunity. That’s Mike Collins’ immigration policy. And that’s what you would expect from the bigot congressman, who called for executing immigrants by throwing them to their deaths out of helicopters. Who still won’t apologize for personally amplifying neo-Nazi propaganda and allowing it to be disseminated from his home.

Rick Folbaum (moderator):Senator, thank you. Congressman, 30 seconds.

Mike Collins: 30 seconds, yeah. Last year this time, farmers, think about this. Jon Ossoff shut the government down. Right when we were trying to get you that money out. Because you needed help. Hurricane Helena had decimated your farms. And you needed help to make sure that you could get next year’s crops out. What did he do? He shut it down. Because he wanted to defund, he wants to defund all law enforcement. But he wanted to defund Border Patrol and ICE. The people that are out there keeping us safe and getting these illegal criminals off our streets and out of our country.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Senator, 30 seconds.

Jon Ossoff: You know, to hear Mike Collins talk about honoring law enforcement, when Mike Collins supports taking your tax dollars and giving it to the people who assaulted police and sacked the United States Capitol on January 6th to overturn that election, Mike Collins is one of the most extreme members of Congress. He’s a Trump puppet election denier. I want to hear if Mike still believes the 2020 election was stolen. What do you say, Mike?

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Senator, thank you. Abby Kousouris, you have the next question.

Abby Kousouris: Congressman Collins, you authored the Lake and Riley Act, which requires detention of certain immigrants charged with crimes. As a U.S. Senator, what more would you do to ensure those who are legally subject to removal are actually deported and communities aren’t forced to pay for extended stay in Georgia jails?

Mike Collins: You know, it’s been amazing. I was... I’ve been... Man, we’ve been clocking 2,000 miles a week for the past couple of weeks. I’m out across the state seeing people. I’m not holed up in Atlanta, Georgia, and run out and do a little press conference. And talking about the Lake and Riley Act, talked with a couple of DAs and assistant DAs, and they said, Mike, because of the Lake and Riley Act, that one little four-page piece of legislation, which Jon Ossoff never helped lift a finger to get me pushed and kept that get across the finish line. He could have passed it when Joe Biden was the president, but he didn’t. I mean, at the end of the day, he voted for it. But what they’re telling me is, Mike, we have people in our jails right now on ICE detainers that otherwise we would have had to have let go, and they would be right back out there in the public committing crimes and continuing their criminal trades. So it’s been a great success. We need to continue that to make sure... We need to continue to make sure that that border stays... stays closed down.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Thank you, Congressman.

Mike Collins: People come in the right way.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Roslyn Giles, you have the next question.

Roslyn Giles: Thank you, Rick. Senator Ossoff, Congressman Collins says you never supported the Lake and Riley Act and only voted yes once passage was already assured. Pointing to your March 2024 vote against a related procedural measure, was your position genuinely evolving? Or was this a political calculation timed to your reelection? And what specific changes do you want to see in the bill that you didn’t get?

Jon Ossoff: Well, Mike Collins knows that’s a lie. But listen, folks, again, what did they tell us? They told us they were going to go after the worst of the worst. They told us they were going to target hardened criminals. And immigration enforcement should focus on those who pose a threat to public safety. But that’s not what they’ve done. My office has been investigating abuses in ICE detention for the last year and a half. We’ve documented more than 1,000 credible reports of human rights abuses in ICE detention facilities. There was an infant who had to go into intensive care because that child’s mother was deported while that child was still breastfeeding. These are human rights abuses that Mike Collins and Donald Trump bear responsibility for. Remember, they unleashed federal agents in American cities wearing masks who killed American citizens. And Mike Collins and Donald Trump should answer for that.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Thank you, Senator.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): That concludes the question portion of tonight’s debate. We will end now with closing statements from each of you. Congressman Collins, since you won the coin toss and elected to get the last word. Senator Ossoff, will you begin your closing statement?

Jon Ossoff: Well, Rick, thanks for having us. Thank you again to Gray Media. You know, each time Mike has called himself a trucker tonight, you’d think he’s cruising down 85 behind the wheel. This is a congressman’s son who inherited a seat in Congress, who now runs his daddy’s trucking company, who voted seven times for the war in Iran, who voted for the tariffs, who voted to cut your health care, all so he could give a tax break to data center developers and some of the wealthiest people in the country. His office has been in cahoots with some of the most notorious white supremacists in America. He’s already brought disgrace to our state. But I am so grateful to Georgians for investing the trust in me to represent Georgia in the Senate. I’ve stood up to the drug companies, to the big tech companies, and to the insurance companies who are denying us the care that we need when we need it. And I humbly ask for your continued support in this election. Thank you so much for having us.

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Congressman Collins, your closing statement.

Mike Collins: Yeah, you know, Georgia, we still haven’t heard why Jon Ossoff votes the way he does. Why he votes almost 100 percent of the time with Bernie Sanders. Why he voted against our farmers. Why he voted against hard-working Georgians out there. Why he’s out there recruiting, supporting, endorsing these Democrat Socialists of America candidates and being endorsed by Hasan Piker, the guy that said that America deserved 9-11. Look, there’s a reason. Those aren’t even Georgia values. Those aren’t even American values. The reason is, is because he doesn’t represent us. He wants to take control of this country with these weird and dangerous ideas with his radical friends. Listen, help me get to the U.S. Senate. Help me get there. And I’ll answer to Georgia. And I’ll deliver. I’ll fight for our state. Not against it. You vote for me and this old trucker will...

Rick Folbaum (moderator): Thank you, Congressman. That concludes tonight’s U.S. Senate debate. Early voting begins this coming Tuesday, October 13th. Election Day is November 3rd. I’m Rick Folbaum. Debate Night Live continues next with a special edition of On The Record. Thanks for joining us.