GOP Strategist: “Mike Collins’ character issue […] has come back to bite him”

Atlanta, Ga. — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution highlighted the ongoing toll of GOP U.S. Senate nominee Mike Collins’ extensive neo-Nazi and white nationalism ties – this time impacting Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson. 

Collins is quickly becoming a large political liability for Republicans across Georgia as he faces intense scrutiny for propping up neo-Nazi propagandaist David Alan Scheer and refusing to say whether he ever paid Scheer either personally, or through his business, his campaign, or his office. Scheer’s close ties to Collins include being “featured in campaign photos, registered to vote at a Collins-owned property” and “produc[ing] promotional work for Collins’ trucking company.” Scheer was also featured on Collins’ campaign website and social media – until Collins quietly removed him earlier this week. 

To date, neither President Trump nor GOP Gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson have answered whether they stand by Collins after his “close ties” to a neo-Nazi propagandist were made public. 

Collins is also facing a slew of other scandals, including an active federal investigation into the illegal misuse of tax dollars, renewed scrutiny over Collins’ office’s ties to prominent white supremacists and efforts to free a Holocaust denier from jail, as well as outrage over his antisemitic harassment of a Jewish reporter and praise for a young man who harassed a Black woman by making monkey sounds. 

AJC [Politically Georgia]: Trump tests the Georgia GOP’s pivot to November
Greg Bluestein and Patricia Murphy | July 22, 2025

KEY EXCERPTS: 

• [Patricia Murphy] “On the Democratic side, we have seen that as a one-two ticket. Jon Ossoff and Keisha Lance Bottoms are running as a ticket. They are doing joint rallies.” 

• [Patricia Murphy] “On the Republican side it does seem like the Jackson campaign […] have their own independent operation and plan. Why do you think that is, and is there a chance that Mike Collins, as he continues to accumulate really bad headlines about potential neo-Nazi relatives or ethics charges against him, is there a chance that Collins could be dragging Jackson’s chances down?”

• [Patricia Murphy] “The CNN report about his son-in-law, who is an online influencer and has a lot of […] really troubling messages about Jewish people, Black people […] they’re antisemitic, significantly so.”

• [Greg Bluestein] “[Senator Jon Ossoff] is going up against a candidate […] who has a string of controversies involving his own background, and his own way, uses his office — as well as the people he’s hired.”

• [Greg Bluestein] “He’s gone through three chiefs of staff. He’s on his third in a year, and CNN just had this mega report about his son-in-law who has been on campaign literature, having a white nationalist, antisemitic screeds on YouTube and online.” 

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