AJC: “The Atlanta Democrat is doing so by doubling-down on his argument that Collins… is unfit for the job.”

Atlanta, Ga. — New reporting from the AJC highlights that Sen. Jon Ossoff is challenging GOP U.S. Senate candidate Mike Collins to at least three televised General Election debates as he doubles down that Collins “is unfit for the job.”

Sen. Ossoff’s challenge comes as his scandal-ridden Republican opponent, Mike Collins, faces an active federal investigation into the illegal misuse of tax dollars as well as outrage over his antisemitic harassment of a Jewish reporter and praise for the harassment of a Black woman with monkey sounds.

AJC Politically Georgia: Ossoff challenges Collins to three debates in Senate race
By Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Beam

KEY EXCERPTS:

• It appears that U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and his Republican challenger, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, will debate at least once headed into the November election.

• Both men have agreed to take part in the Atlanta Press Club’s debate series, likely to be held in October.

• But Ossoff is challenging Collins to two additional television debates. One would be hosted by WSB and the other jointly by Gray Media and Atlanta News First.

• The Atlanta Democrat is doing so by doubling-down on his argument that Collins, who is facing a House Ethics Committee inquiry and recently fired a top aide over an offensive social media post, is unfit for the job.

• “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,” Ossoff said.

• While campaigning for his first term in 2020, which resulted in him unseating incumbent U.S. Sen. David Perdue, Ossoff showed himself to be a formidable candidate in head-to-head matchups.

• They debated twice, first with the Atlanta Press Club and two weeks later an event in Savannah hosted by WTOC. There, Ossoff accused Perdue of downplaying the severity of the coronavirus pandemic while trading stocks based on what he knew about COVID-19. His sharpest lines went viral.

• Perdue had agreed to a third debate planned by WSB, but he pulled out after President Donald Trump scheduled a rally in northwest Georgia on the same day. The two never faced off again.

• When both advanced to a January 2021 runoff, Ossoff debated an empty podium after Perdue declined an invitation to return to the Atlanta Press Club’s debate stage.

• There was no immediate word from the Collins camp about Ossoff’s debate invitations.

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