Jon Ossoff

Republican Senate nominee Mike Collins held a meet-and-greet in Chatham County, portraying his opponent Jon Ossoff as a far-left candidate.

Collins addressed allegations of ties to white nationalism, calling them "smear attacks" by the Ossoff campaign.

Collins touted his own voting record, including his support for the Laken Riley Act and the TRANQ Research Act.

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Mike Collins stumped in one of Chatham County’s deep red communities Tuesday morning, painting opponent Jon Ossoff as a far-left candidate while touting his own voting record.

Collins held a meet-and-greet event at The Landings Golf and Athletic Club on Skidaway Island, one of Chatham County's Republican strongholds. The Republican said the race's two candidates are "polar opposites."

“This race is easy. This is common sense versus communism crazy,” Collins said.

The event featured Collins meeting supporters, delivering a 20-minute stump speech and taking questions from multiple attendees. Roughly 60 people attended the meet and greet, held inside a conference room at The Palmetto Clubhouse.

One attendee was supporter Leroy Suddath of Isle of Hope, who was seeing Collins for the first time. Suddath said witnessing Collins’ approach and delivery first-hand improved his opinion of the candidate, citing support of Collins’ “folksy” personality.

“He showed you what the Republican Party is,” Suddath said, adding he thinks Collins will unite the party against Ossoff in November.

The local meet and greet was the latest example of Chatham County receiving attention from the Senate candidates ahead of the Nov. 3 General Election. Ossoff held a rally in Savannah in June alongside Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms. There, Ossoff criticized rising costs across the U.S. economy, particularly in healthcare, while tying those issues to President Donald Trump and Collins, according to reporting by the Savannah Morning News.

Collins has been Trump-endorsed since the spring primaries, where he faced Republican challengers Buddy Carter and Derek Dooley, who Collins defeated in a runoff in June.

“Mike Collins continues to fuel the worsening cost-of-living crisis and refuses to answer questions about his close ties to white nationalism,” said an Ossoff campaign spokesperson in a statement to the Morning News. “Meanwhile, Senator Ossoff has helped bring thousands of good-paying jobs to Georgia, capped the cost of insulin and out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors, and delivered unprecedented investments in the state’s infrastructure.”

Ossoff’s allegations of “white nationalist ties” are based on reporting that Collins’ son-in-law made “white nationalist” comments on social media. In response to a reporter’s question about the issue Tuesday, Collins said Ossoff is using “smear attacks” to avoid talking about his record.

“Everyone knows I do not have any hate in me, and I don’t condone it. Never have, never will,” Collins said.

Meanwhile, Collins aimed to paint Ossoff as a far-left candidate, lodging criticisms of Ossoff blocking federal bills banning transgender students from participating in women’s sports. He also criticized Ossoff’s recent support of Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, saying the endorsement “ought to send out alarm bells all across this state.”

During the question-and-answer portion of the event, Collins fielded questions about election law reform and data centers. He expressed his support for Trump's SAVE Act and "local control" for where data centers are placed.

Collins also touted his voting record on Tuesday, citing the bipartisan TRANQ Research Act of 2023, which aims to increase scientific research on synthetic opioids. The Republican congressman also pointed to the Laken Riley Act, passed in response to the killing of a 22-year-old nursing student by an undocumented immigrant in Athens.

Ossoff also voted for the legislation.

Collins also expressed his support for Georgia’s Ports and work to obtain funding for dredging of Brunswick’s shipping channel. Collins is chair of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, which oversees U.S. Army Corps of Engineers funding for projects such as dredging.

“(The ports) are vitally important not just for this area, but for the state and country,” Collins said.

Evan Lasseter is the City of Savannah and Chatham County government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at [email protected].