Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) is challenging Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) to two additional debates ahead of the general election in the Georgia Senate race as the incumbent holds a significant polling and cash advantage.
Ossoff and Collins have already agreed to a debate hosted by the Atlanta Press Club, but Ossoff is looking to add two more opportunities for the pair to face off in the closely watched Senate race, where the Democrat is looking to keep his seat.
According to a press release, Ossoff has challenged Trump-backed Collins to additional televised debates, reportedly hosted by WSB-TV, as well as a jointly hosted debate by Gray Media and Atlanta News First.
More debates would give the competitors additional opportunities to make their pitch to voters as the two continue to spar over upbringings, voting records, and affordability. Collins has framed the race as “self-made vs. silver spoon,” while Ossoff has gone after the GOP candidate as unfit for the job due to a House Ethics Committee inquiry.
The topic Ossoff and Collins often circle back to is making living costs more affordable for voters. Collins points to the incumbent’s voting record against tax cuts, saying Ossoff “has fought to make your life more expensive and less free at every turn.”
Ossoff has taken a few pages out of Democrats’ 2026 affordability playbook, pointing to Trump’s policies, as well as his efforts to cap insulin prices and lower housing costs while in office. He has also gone after Collins’s ethics.
“Mike Collins is a notorious bigot, antisemite, and extremist currently under federal investigation for the illegal misuse of tax dollars, who is only a congressman because his daddy was a congressman,” Ossoff said as to why he is seeking additional debates. “Collins is pro-cutting your health care, pro-tariffs, and pro-war, and I challenge him to three televised debates where he can try to defend his corruption while I present my vision for Georgia’s future.”
Recent polling shows Ossoff with a significant lead over Collins in the general election. A Fox News-sponsored survey found Ossoff pulling in 56% of voters, while Collins trailed with 43% support.
Ossoff cruised through the primary elections, facing no challengers. Collins, on the other hand, failed to secure the majority of the votes in the Republican primary and faced a runoff election against Derek Dooley, who was endorsed by Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA). Collins finished the runoff with a wide margin but still faces the challenge of garnering voter support from those who previously supported his competitors.
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On the financial front, Ossoff has dominated in fundraising. While he holds cash from a previous Senate campaign and had an easier primary season, Ossoff reported having over $32 million in cash on hand at the end of April, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Collins had additional primary campaigning due to the runoff election and ended May with $1.7 million in cash on hand.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Collins’s office for comment.