During a contentious one-hour debate in Georgia’s U.S. Senate race, Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff and his Republican challenger, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, spent a significant portion of the evening trading personal barbs.
Collins labeled Ossoff a “radical” and a “trust fund kid who’s never had a job in his life.”
In response, Ossoff called Collins a “bigot,” pointing to online posts made by Collins’ son-in-law featuring white supremacist rhetoric. “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,” Ossoff said. Collins countered by stating that he has consistently denounced racism and antisemitism.
Beyond the personal attacks, the candidates scrutinized each other’s legislative histories and found common ground on only one issue: the need for greater oversight of data centers. Fact-checkers subsequently evaluated several statements made during the showdown.
Ossoff: “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. … His office has been in cahoots with some of the most notorious white supremacists on the country.”
In May 2024, Collins shared a video on X depicting a confrontation between a Black woman and a group of white men during a pro-Palestinian demonstration at the University of Mississippi, adding the caption, “Ole Miss taking care of business.”
Within the footage, an individual appeared to make monkey gestures and noises.
When asked about the post, a spokesperson for Collins’ campaign pointed to a previous statement issued by the congressman amid public backlash.
“If that person is found to have treated another human being improperly because of their race, they should be punished appropriately…,” the statement read. “Frankly, I did not believe that to be the focal point of the video shared at the time, but I recognized that there certainly seems to be some potentially inappropriate behavior that none of us should seek to glorify.”
Additionally, media reports surfaced in August indicating that a former Collins staffer had shared Nazi and Ku Klux Klan imagery on personal social media accounts. Earlier in July, Collins replaced a chief of staff following revelations that the aide had participated in a group chat alongside far-right figures Nick Fuentes and white nationalist Richard Spencer.
Ossoff: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act “gave $70 billion of your money to data center developers.”
This claim requires additional context.
While the major tax and spending legislation championed by Donald Trump in 2025 did not contain tax incentives explicitly designed for data centers, companies tied to the industry benefited from broader provisions. Among them was a rule allowing businesses to write off equipment expenses much faster than previously permitted.
To support his figure, Ossoff’s campaign cited an analysis by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The study concluded that major technology firms involved in developing or utilizing data centers—such as Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle—saved a combined $70 billion through accelerated depreciation and other package measures.
The institute noted that while the tax benefit applies broadly to various types of investments, it has proven particularly lucrative for entities building out artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Ossoff ultimately opposed the legislation, whereas Collins voted in favor of it.
Public opinion polls indicate that many voters are skeptical of new data centers due to worries over surging electricity bills and strains on municipal infrastructure.
Collins: “He also said that he was responsible, voted for the infrastructure improvements at Fort Benning and Fort Stewart. He voted against that bill as well.”
This statement lacks crucial context.
In 2025, Ossoff’s office publicized his role in drafting and passing a measure aimed at funding infrastructure upgrades at Georgia military installations Fort Benning and Fort Stewart. He backed the initiative during a Senate subcommittee markup and during the full chamber’s vote.
However, that specific funding measure was later combined into a much larger appropriations package, which Ossoff ultimately voted against.
Explaining the vote to reporters in July, his campaign stated that he opposed the overarching legislation because it failed to extend healthcare subsidies.
Furthermore, Ossoff’s team highlighted his support for standalone military construction appropriations during fiscal years 2022 and 2024, which successfully secured funding for projects at both Georgia bases.
Collins: “That Bidenomics, that Green New Deal that my opponent voted for, that’s where all this inflation came from.”
This assertion is factually incorrect.
The Green New Deal was never enacted into law, making it impossible for the policy to have influenced inflation.
Introduced in 2019 as a nonbinding resolution, the proposal outlined strategies to combat climate change, including achieving net-zero emissions, establishing smart power grids, and retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency. Even among Democrats, the measure lacked universal backing, and as a resolution, it would not have carried the force of law regardless.
Moreover, Ossoff did not vote for the proposal, as he did not join the Senate until 2021.
Collins’ campaign later clarified that he was referring to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a law Ossoff did support that included substantial clean energy incentives alongside prescription drug reform.
Nevertheless, economists note that the legislation did not trigger a surge in inflation; rather, the year-over-year inflation rate steadily declined following its passage from mid-2022 peaks near 9%.
According to economic experts, the primary drivers of the 2022 inflation spike were pandemic-related supply chain bottlenecks followed by the economic fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
While economists estimate that roughly two percentage points of the 2022 inflation increase can be traced to the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan—a COVID-19 relief package Ossoff supported—that stimulus merely amplified existing supply-demand imbalances rather than single-handedly causing them.
Finally, experts point out that contemporary inflation levels, which remain elevated compared to the start of Trump’s second term, are largely the result of recent administration policies. These include the implementation of new tariffs and a conflict with Iran that disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital corridor for petroleum, driving up fuel and energy costs across the board.