# U.S. Senate — 2026 Candidates — The GA Files > Where the 2026 candidates for Georgia U.S. Senate stand — bio, prior offices, top donors, positions on DEI, LGBTQ+, abortion, and data centers, plus any scandals. Sourced. *Source: https://thegafiles.com/candidates/us-senate.html · The GA Files (thegafiles.com)* --- [← 2026 Candidates](https://thegafiles.com/candidates.html) # U.S. Senate [ Fact-check The Mud & The Facts: a race scorecard · Every major attack line in this race — from both camps — held to one standard: what's true, what's mangled, and the defense each side deserves. Sourced. → ](https://thegafiles.com/candidates/us-senate-scorecard.html) D ### Jon Ossoff Democratic incumbent Georgia's junior U.S. senator since 2021 and, at his election, the Senate's youngest member. A documentary-film executive who investigated corruption and war crimes, and a former congressional national-security aide, he won a January 2021 runoff that helped flip control of the Senate. He is running for a second term. #### Previously held - U.S. Senate (2021–present) - CEO, Insight TWI — investigative documentary company - U.S. House national-security aide #### Top contributors One of the best-funded Senate incumbents in the country — he raised $60M+ this cycle, overwhelmingly small-dollar. His largest committee receipts are joint fundraising committees (his own bundling vehicles) and Democratic-aligned funds, not corporate PACs — a grassroots money profile. - $4,945,244 — Ossoff Victory Fund (his joint fundraising committee) - $322,000 — Ossoff Schiff Victory Fund - $135,000 — Peaches and Peaks Victory Fund - $125,298 — Van Hollen Ossoff Victory Fund - $96,468 — Justice 2026 - $72,000 — Georgia Senate Victory 2026 **$77,279,766** raised · **$42,587,451** cash on hand — as of **Jun 30, 2026** (FEC latest filing). Source: [FEC — Ossoff](https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/S8GA00180/) · [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Jon_Ossoff) #### Where they stand Federal spending & debt Sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee and steers federal dollars to Georgia while casting himself as a deficit-conscious dealmaker — he voted for the bipartisan 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act to avoid a default and uses his Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations perch to chase waste, fraud, and contractor abuse. Backs raising the debt limit to prevent default rather than brinkmanship. Source: [Ossoff Senate — Appropriations](https://www.ossoff.senate.gov/services/appropriations/) · [Ballotpedia — Jon Ossoff](https://ballotpedia.org/Jon_Ossoff) Education Backs public-school investment and lowering the cost of college, pushing federal funding for Georgia schools and student-debt relief. Source: [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Jon_Ossoff) · [About — Sen. Ossoff](https://www.ossoff.senate.gov/about/) Healthcare Campaigns on protecting and expanding Medicare and Medicaid and lowering costs; he helped pass the $35-a-month insulin cap for seniors. Source: [Jon Ossoff — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Ossoff) · [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Jon_Ossoff) Social Security reform Vows to protect Social Security and opposes Republican proposals to cut benefits or raise the retirement age. Source: [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Jon_Ossoff) · [About — Sen. Ossoff](https://www.ossoff.senate.gov/about/) Minimum Wage Supports raising the federal minimum wage; he backed the push for a $15 federal minimum in 2021. Source: [Vote Smart — Ossoff key votes](https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/key-votes/176134/jon-ossoff) · [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Jon_Ossoff) Homelessness No standalone homelessness plank; he frames it through housing affordability and veteran housing. Source: [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Jon_Ossoff) Veterans Affairs Has made veterans and military families a priority, pushing legislation on VA care and support for Georgia's large veteran population. Source: [About — Sen. Ossoff](https://www.ossoff.senate.gov/about/) Immigration Supports comprehensive reform paired with border security; notably broke with most Democrats to vote for the 2025 Laken Riley Act, which requires ICE detention of undocumented immigrants charged with theft. Source: [Jon Ossoff — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Ossoff) · [Common Dreams — Laken Riley Act](https://www.commondreams.org/news/laken-riley-act) Gun Control Supports gun-safety reform. He voted for the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act — the first major federal gun-safety law in nearly 30 years — and backs universal background checks and red-flag laws. Source: [Sen. Ossoff — gun-violence statement](https://www.ossoff.senate.gov/press-releases/sen-ossoff-statement-on-bipartisan-action-to-prevent-gun-violence/) · [OnTheIssues — Ossoff](https://www.ontheissues.org/Domestic/Jon_Ossoff_Gun_Control.htm) Abortion Supports abortion rights; he condemned the overturning of Roe v. Wade and led an investigation into the health impact of Georgia's six-week ban. Source: [Jon Ossoff — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Ossoff) LGBTQ+ Calls his support “unwavering” and backs the Equality Act, which would bar discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Source: [Jon Ossoff — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Ossoff) DEI Has not made DEI a signature issue but opposes the Trump administration's rollback of diversity programs. Source: [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Jon_Ossoff) Marijuana Supports legalization — “It's past time to legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis,” he says, arguing prohibition only enriches cartels and private prisons. Source: [Jon Ossoff — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Ossoff) Data centers & AI Opened a federal inquiry into whether the boom in energy-hungry AI data centers is driving up Georgia power bills — sending a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission demanding regulators ensure tech companies “pay their own way” instead of shifting infrastructure costs onto households. Backs AI investment but wants ratepayers protected. Source: [11Alive — Ossoff AI data-center power-bill inquiry](https://www.11alive.com/article/news/politics/jon-ossoff-ai-data-centers-power-bill-impact-inquiry/85-1fe2723c-097f-4028-8b3a-5ef70a5d835a) · [CBS Atlanta — Ossoff probes AI data centers & power bills](https://www.cbsnews.com/atlanta/news/ossoff-investigating-ai-data-center-are-impacting-rising-power-bills-in-georgia/) #### Scandals None documented. [Campaign site](https://electjon.com/) · [Senate office](https://www.ossoff.senate.gov/) · [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Jon_Ossoff) · [GA Files fact sheet](https://thegafiles.com/JonOssoff.html) R ### Mike Collins Republican nominee U.S. representative for Georgia's 10th District since 2023 and son of former congressman Mac Collins. A trucking-company owner from Jackson, Georgia, and a combative Trump ally known for viral social-media posts, he won the June 2026 Republican Senate runoff to challenge Ossoff. #### Previously held - U.S. House, GA-10 (2023–present) - Owner, Collins Trucking Company #### Top contributors Despite his trucking-company wealth he self-funds only modestly (about $65K); his receipts are dominated by transfers from his own joint fundraising committees (~$1.25M), with corporate and industry PACs — SpaceX, Delta Air Lines, Home Depot, credit unions — behind them. - $1,121,947 — Collins Victory Fund (his joint fundraising committee) - $130,077 — Collins Victory Committee - $10,000 — Growing Our Own Dynamic Economy Now (leadership PAC) - $10,000 — CULAC (credit unions) - $10,000 — SpaceX PAC - $5,000 — Delta Air Lines PAC **$6,511,960** raised · **$2,038,360** cash on hand — as of **Jun 30, 2026** (FEC latest filing). Source: [FEC — Collins](https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/S6GA00390/) · [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Mike_Collins_(Georgia)) #### Where they stand Federal spending & debt Calls the national debt and Washington's “runaway spending” the country's top threat. A House Freedom Caucus member, he pushes a balanced-budget amendment and deep cuts, voted against the 2023 bipartisan debt-ceiling deal, and has opposed nearly every stopgap funding bill as not cutting enough — the central message of his U.S. Senate campaign. Source: [Ballotpedia — Mike Collins](https://ballotpedia.org/Mike_Collins_(Georgia)) · [Wikipedia — Mike Collins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Collins_(politician)) Education Backs school choice and shrinking the federal role in education, in line with the Trump agenda; he has not detailed a standalone education plan. Source: [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Mike_Collins_(Georgia)) Healthcare A reliable vote for the House Republican agenda; he opposes expanding government health programs and has not put forward a healthcare plan of his own. Source: [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Mike_Collins_(Georgia)) Social Security reform Has not detailed a Social Security plan of his own; he campaigns on the Trump fiscal agenda. Source: [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Mike_Collins_(Georgia)) Minimum Wage Has not supported raising the federal minimum wage. Source: [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Mike_Collins_(Georgia)) Homelessness No specific homelessness platform documented. Source: [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Mike_Collins_(Georgia)) Veterans Affairs No veterans-specific platform documented. Source: [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Mike_Collins_(Georgia)) Immigration Hardline — he authored the Laken Riley Act (signed into law January 2025) requiring ICE to detain undocumented immigrants charged with theft, and built his campaign on border security and Trump-style enforcement. Source: [Mike Collins — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Collins_(politician)) · [TIME — Laken Riley Act](https://time.com/7205925/laken-riley-act/) Gun Control Pro–Second Amendment; he opposes new gun control and has co-sponsored the “Repeal the NFA Act” to roll back federal firearm regulations. Source: [Mike Collins — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Collins_(politician)) Abortion Anti-abortion. In an earlier run he backed a ban with no exceptions; he now says he supports Georgia's six-week “heartbeat” law, which includes exceptions. Source: [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Mike_Collins_(Georgia)) LGBTQ+ Opposed. He drew national attention for posting that a bishop should be “deported” after she pleaded for mercy toward immigrants and LGBTQ children, and aligns with anti-transgender policy. Source: [Mike Collins — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Collins_(politician)) DEI Opposes DEI, in line with the Trump administration's rollback of diversity programs. Source: [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Mike_Collins_(Georgia)) Marijuana No position on marijuana documented. Source: [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Mike_Collins_(Georgia)) Data centers & AI Embraces AI and data-center expansion as economic growth and “energy dominance,” announcing an AI data-center policy proposal and favoring building more power generation to feed the boom rather than the construction moratoriums some on the left support — the mirror image of Ossoff's consumer-cost framing. Source: [MSN — Collins announces AI data center policy proposal](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/collins-announces-ai-data-center-policy-proposal/ar-AA22Ikit) · [Georgia Recorder — data centers & clean energy](https://georgiarecorder.com/2025/12/05/georgia-hashes-out-plan-to-let-data-centers-build-their-own-clean-energy/) #### PPP loan Forgiven **$920,000** — Collins Trucking Company (Jackson, GA), April 2020. Collins's trucking company received the loan in April 2020; federal records show it was later forgiven. Afterward, Collins put more than $500,000 of his own money into his 2022 congressional campaign. Sources - [AOL / syndicated reporting](https://www.aol.com/articles/mike-collins-pushed-deregulation-benefited-144202000.html) - [ProPublica — Tracking PPP (search)](https://projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/bailouts/) #### Scandals ##### Son-in-law revealed as a white-nationalist influencer broadcasting to 1.5M followers Reported by CNN's KFile (July 16, 2026). The conduct is the son-in-law's, not Collins's own, and no wrongdoing by Collins is alleged. Scheer did not respond to requests for comment; the campaign did not address the posts, saying Collins's “lifelong support for Israel is unquestionable.” CNN's KFile reported that Collins's son-in-law, David Alan Scheer II — married to his daughter Summer — is a white-nationalist social-media influencer with more than 1.5 million followers across TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Telegram, posting Nazi imagery, antisemitic conspiracy theories, calls to deport Muslims, warnings that white people are “going extinct,” and promotion of Patriot Front, the white-supremacist group. The ties are close and documented: Scheer appears in family photos on the campaign's website, attended Collins's Senate-primary victory party, helped produce promotional videos for Collins Trucking, and is registered to vote at a Collins-owned property beside the congressman's home. It is the second report tying Collins's inner circle to white-nationalist figures, after the May 2026 group-chat story involving his chief of staff. Source: [CNN KFile — Senate candidate's close ties to white-nationalist influencer, his son-in-law](https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/16/politics/kfile-mike-collins-georgia-senate-race-son-in-law-white-nationalist-social-media-content) · [Yahoo News / HuffPost — Georgia GOP Senate nominee's ties to white-nationalist family member](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/georgia-gop-senate-nominee-ties-112559837.html) ##### Under House Ethics Committee investigation over use of office resources Investigation ongoing; allegations unproven The House Ethics Committee announced in November 2025 that it found “substantial reason to believe” Collins used congressional resources for unofficial or unauthorized purposes — including about $5,000 paid in 2023–24 to an intern, Caroline Craze, who allegedly performed no work and was the girlfriend of Collins's then-chief of staff, Brandon Phillips (now a senior adviser to his campaign). Investigators said Collins, Phillips and other staff did not cooperate and recommended subpoenas. The allegations have not been adjudicated. Source: [Atlanta News First — Collins under House Ethics investigation](https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2025/11/21/us-rep-mike-collins-under-house-ethics-committee-investigation/) · [Georgia Recorder — details on the Collins ethics investigation](https://georgiarecorder.com/briefs/more-details-released-about-ethics-investigation-into-congressman-mike-collins-and-former-top-aide/) ##### Chief of staff in white-nationalist group chat; vowed to use his office to free a Holocaust denier Reported by Slate; Collins himself was not in the chat. His chief of staff, Kip Talley, says he acted “in a personal capacity” for a mistreated acquaintance and remains in the role. Not adjudicated. Slate reported in May 2026 that Collins's chief of staff, Kip Talley, took part in a group chat — titled “Research Group—Johnson '28?” and including white nationalists Nick Fuentes and Richard Spencer — in which he wrote that he wanted to “use the levers of the legislative branch” to help free Charles C. Johnson, a far-right activist and Holocaust denier jailed in late 2025 on a contempt charge. Talley, then Collins's deputy chief of staff (promoted to chief of staff in January 2026), said he was “reaching out to my people at FBI and DOJ” to get Johnson out. He called it a personal effort for a mistreated acquaintance and kept his job; the episode fueled Sen. Jon Ossoff's depiction of Collins as an “antisemite” and “extremist.” Source: [Slate](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/05/senate-georgia-elections-mike-collins-nick-fuentes.html) · [The Forward](https://forward.com/fast-forward/832421/) · [Times of Israel](https://www.timesofisrael.com/what-to-know-about-georgias-jewish-senator-calling-newly-minted-gop-opponent-an-antisemite/) [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Mike_Collins_(Georgia)) · [Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/member/mike-collins/C001129) · [GA Files fact sheet](https://thegafiles.com/MikeCollins.html) [⬇ Share image](https://thegafiles.com/share/candidates/us-senate.png) [⬇ Download for offline](https://thegafiles.com/candidates/us-senate.offline.html) Every entry is drawn from published reporting, official records, or the candidate's own statements, with sources on each item. Policy summaries are condensed from that reporting and reflect the candidate's stated positions; where a matter is an allegation or unresolved, that is noted, and inclusion is not a finding of guilt. Contributor figures are early/partial where the official itemized filings (Georgia Ethics Commission) are still being compiled. Corrections welcome via the contact link in the footer. Last updated 2026-06-17.