The ugly scandal torpedoing the GOP’s top Senate hopeful

U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) speaks during a campaign rally held by Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., August 3, 2024.

More than 50 Black Georgia lawmakers have signed onto a statement condemning Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins for associates’ comments and posts that have been widely panned as racist and antisemitic.

Collins is set to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in November with the endorsement of President Donald Trump.

But since clinching the GOP nomination in a June runoff, Collins has come under fire for online posts by his son-in-law and former chief of staff last month after reports the staffer was in a group chat with white nationalists.

The statement issued by Black Georgia lawmakers this week criticized Collins for not apologizing or offering an explanation.

“We condemn the Georgia congressman and urge our Republican state legislators to join us in demanding answers for his extensive ties to white nationalists,” the statement reads in part.

Collins’ campaign did not respond to requests for comment Monday.

Sen. Nikki Merritt, a Grayson Democrat who leads the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, was among the statement’s signers.

“I signed this letter because these are some really concerning allegations,” she said in a phone call Monday.

“We’re talking about ties to people who promote white nationalism, just hate and racist propaganda, and these are targeted specifically at Black people and minorities,” she added.

Son-in-law’s posts

The statement refers to David Alan Scheer II, Collins’ son-in-law and a religious and fitness influencer on social media.

As first reported by CNN July 16, Scheer’s accounts contained white supremacist and antisemitic tropes. Posts reviewed by the Georgia Recorder included antisemitic tropes such as that Jews control the media and are responsible for the death of Jesus.

In one video posted in November, Scheer suggested Jews were behind societal ills including pornography and high interest rates as well as high profile political assassinations.

“All we’re told is Germany bad, Hitler evil,” he said. “Don’t ask questions. Holocaust, Holocaust, Holocaust. Here’s 50 movies every year about the Holocaust and why it’s so bad.”

“Look into your history,” he added. “Realize that the people who’ve been writing the textbooks are on the wrong team. And start to do some digging for yourself.”

Scheer did not respond to requests for comment sent to his social media accounts. An attempt to reach him by phone was unsuccessful.

Collins responded to a question about Scheer at an event in Athens last week.

“No one speaks for me, and I don’t speak for anyone else,” he said. “I condemn all forms of antisemitism. I don’t care what the source is. Any type of hate, I condemn, period. That’s not who I am.”

Collins also pointed to his voting record of support for Israel’s military and emphasized that Scheer has never been part of his campaign.

The Black lawmakers’ statement also references a 2024 video of a pro-Palestinian demonstration at Ole Miss in which white counterprotesters can be seen mocking a Black demonstrator. At least one white participant can be seen and heard imitating a monkey.

Collins reposted the video at the time and wrote “Ole Miss taking care of business” in a caption.

After receiving blowback over his video, Collins wrote that he intended to elevate the negative reaction to pro-Palestinian protests but not the racist behavior.

“Frankly, I did not believe that to be the focal point of the video shared at the time, but I recognize that there certainly seems to be some potentially inappropriate behavior that none of us should seek to glorify,” he wrote.

Former campaign manager tries to get alleged white supremacist out of jail

The letter also references a May 28 Slate report that found now-former chief of staff Kip Talley took part in a group chat with white supremacists. In the chat, he documented his efforts to intervene on behalf of an associate who was jailed for contempt of court. The man Talley was seeking to help was someone who had minimized the extent of the Holocaust and posited that non-whites were genetically predisposed to violence.

Attempts to reach Talley by email were not immediately successful Monday. In a statement to Slate, Talley said he acted on his own to help an acquaintance.

“I was simply trying to help a suffering inmate connect with counsel,” he said. “I did not act at the direction of Rep. Collins, use official resources, or coordinate with anyone else in the group chat.”

Collins replaced Talley last month. That shake-up came after the candidate let go his previous chief of staff, who was under congressional investigation for allegedly misusing campaign funds, after the aide mocked an alleged rape victim online using a Collins campaign social media account.

Collins apologized for the post, saying it was made without his knowledge and “in no way represents or reflects my values or the values of this campaign.”

Political headwinds

Collins defeated former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley in a June runoff to become his party’s nominee.

Dooley and Gov. Brian Kemp, who supported Dooley’s candidacy, often argued that Collins’ record and history of making controversial statements on social media could harm him in a general election.

Ossoff is the sole Democratic senator up for election this year in a state won by Republican President Donald Trump in 2024, and the race is expected to be closely watched and expensive.

Amid Collins’ continued bad press, Ossoff has dominated when it comes to fundraising and is leading in most polls. The Center for Politics Sabato’s Crystal Ball, an election prognosticator at the University of Virginia, recently updated Georgia’s rating from “leans Democratic” to “likely Democratic,” reflecting Ossoff’s current advantages.

Ossoff’s campaign has touted recent endorsements from high-profile Republicans, including former U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson and Tifton Mayor Julie Smith.

From Your Site Articles