Sen. Ossoff to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer: “I want you to know that every single day I have the Chattahoochee Valley on my mind, […] it doesn’t matter if you’re for me or against me.”

Columbus, Ga. — New reporting from the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer highlights Senator Jon Ossoff’s efforts to protect veterans and military families, ban insurance companies from delaying or denying needed healthcare, and deliver strong constituent services across Georgia and the Chattahoochee Valley.

Sen. Ossoff, joined by U.S. Senator and Navy veteran Mark Kelly and former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, met with voters in Columbus last week to discuss the issues directly impacting them, including the skyrocketing cost of healthcare premiums after GOP U.S. Senate candidate Mike Collins voted to increase healthcare costs.

In its reporting, the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer details how Sen. Ossoff discussed his work on behalf of “military families across three military installations in Georgia, including Fort Benning, who reported poor living conditions, such as homes with lead, areas flooded with water, HVAC fires and gas leaks, severe pest infestation, mold and HVAC failures in extreme temperatures.” The reporting also highlights Sen. Ossoff on offense against Collins, who has faced intense scrutiny for “his close ties to white nationalists,” and “criticism after his chief of staff, Kip Talley, said he used his position to attempt to free a Holocaust denier from prison.”

Throughout his bid for U.S. Senate, the number of controversies surrounding Collins’ ties to white nationalism has continued to grow. Collins’ office previously briefed Nick Fuentes and Richard Spencer, some of the most notorious white supremacists in America who attended the Unite the Right hate rally in Charlottesville, on its efforts to free a Holocaust denier from jail. Collins also faces an ongoing federal investigation into his illegal misuse of tax dollars, and outrage over both his antisemitic harassment of a Jewish reporter and praise for a young man who harassed a Black woman by making monkey sounds. 

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer: Sen. Jon Ossoff talks military housing, healthcare after Columbus visit
By Brittany McGee | August 20, 2026

KEY EXCERPTS:

• In an interview with the Ledger-Enquirer after he visited Columbus this week, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) spoke about military housing and stopping health insurance companies from denying needed coverage.

• Ossoff, who was joined by U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, met with veterans at the Bibb City Mill Event Center on Tuesday.
  
• During the event, Ossoff criticized Georgia Republican U.S. Senate nominee and U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Jackson) over reports of his close ties to white nationalists. Collins has also faced criticism after his chief of staff, Kip Talley, said he used his position to attempt to free a Holocaust denier from prison.

• Ossoff challenged Collins to release all communications between his office and white nationalist influencers. 

• “I think, in a way, it’s tragic that here in Georgia in the year 2026, in some ways, one of the central questions of the U.S. Senate race is whether white nationalism belongs in the United States Senate,” Ossoff said during Tuesday’s event.

• While speaking to veterans, Ossoff also took aim at President Donald Trump and the Iran War.
  
• “I don’t think anything illustrates the times more aptly than that the draft-dodging crook president has plunged our nation recklessly into a war he knows not how to end or to win,” Ossoff said.
  
• James Hutchins, a U.S. Army veteran and Columbus resident, attended the event to hear Ossoff, Kelly and Giffords speak, he told the Ledger-Enquirer. Hutchins said he served from 1985 to 1999. […]
  
• “(We need to) make life better for everyone, not just the rich and not leaving the poor, working class behind,” Hutchins said.

• Ossoff has been working to make life better for the soldiers at Fort Benning and their families, he told the Ledger-Enquirer in a phone interview. 

• “I’ve been fighting to upgrade quality of life facilities on post,” he said. “I recognize we have much more to do. And I’m currently investigating conditions in the privatized housing on post to make sure that military families are being treated right by these defense contractors, since I know there are serious issues with the quality of their housing.”
  
• Ossoff’s team spoke to dozens of military families across three military installations in Georgia, including Fort Benning, who reported poor living conditions, such as homes with lead, areas flooded with water, HVAC fires and gas leaks, severe pest infestation, mold and HVAC failures in extreme temperatures.

• Along with speaking to veterans, Ossoff also spoke about supporting healthcare and education in Muscogee County since becoming a senator in 2021 after the 2020 election. Some of the resources he has helped bring to Columbus include a new mobile medical unit, resources to expand the space center at Columbus State University and resources for new science and technology education for Muscogee County school children.
  
• Columbus resident Charlotte Bowman also attended Tuesday’s event because she wanted to show her support and appreciation for Ossoff after his constituent services team helped her navigate Social Security for her son, who has special needs.
  
• “We could never have gotten through it without his support and help,” Bowman told the Ledger-Enquirer. “We are deeply grateful. And we wouldn’t have known that the service was even available if (Ossoff’s team) hadn’t come to the community.”

• Ossoff’s most important priority, he told the Ledger-Enquirer, is working to increase accessibility to healthcare.

• He worked to get the cost of insulin for seniors capped at $35 a month, Ossoff said, and now he is working to ban insurance companies from delaying or denying needed healthcare.
  
• “I want you to know that every single day I have the Chattahoochee Valley on my mind,” Ossoff said during Tuesday’s event. “It doesn’t matter if you’re for me or against me.”

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