Mike Collins’ son-in-law sparks fresh outrage online

Today’s newsletter highlights:

• Test your knowledge with our news quiz.
• Rick Jackson is putting affordability at the center of a new policy push.
• Property tax relief from OpenAI’s Savannah-area data center could begin this year.

Doubling down

U.S. Rep. Mike Collins speaks to supporters during his watch party after winning the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in June. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Weeks after Republican U.S. Senate nominee Mike Collins sought to put the furor surrounding his son-in-law’s extremist posts behind him, David Alan Scheer II is still stirring online outrage.

In one recent exchange, Scheer said he “absolutely” believes there should be only one vote per household after a commenter challenged him over whether women should have voting rights.

David Alan Scheer II continues to stir online outrage with posts like the one pictured here. (Screenshot)

In another, a commenter wrote that “women shouldn’t have free will 100%.” Scheer responded: “repeal the 19th amendment and a lot of issues will resolve themselves.” The 19th Amendment guaranteed women the right to vote.

A screenshot of a social media post from David Alan Scheer II.

Scheer also continued posting inflammatory comments about Muslims and race, including suggesting that demographic differences help explain why Scandinavian countries are safer than the United States.

David Alan Scheer II is married to U.S. Rep. Mike Collins' daughter. (Screenshot)

When a commenter said he was too European to enjoy another of Scheer’s posts, he responded: “sorry I didn’t get stabbed by a Muslim and then arrested for being white. Maybe you could relate then.”

David Alan Scheer II and his wife, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins' daughter, live in a home on property owned by Collins adjacent to his main residence in Jackson. (Screenshot)

In a YouTube video posted about two weeks ago, he argued that Americans have gone too far in treating stereotypes as inherently wrong, invoking Hitler and genocide to make his point.

“In this day and age of suicidal empathy, we like to chastise ourselves into thinking that we should be anti-prejudice, anti-assumptions, because those are all inherently evil - that’s how Hitler got here, because he just assumed this one group of people was just inherently bad” he said.

He added that treating an instinctive prejudice of someone based on appearance as “the breeding ground for genocidal thoughts” is “just an absurd notion.”

The video includes images from Vaught’s Practical Character Reader, a 124-year-old book rooted in the discredited practice of claiming that a person’s character or personality can be determined from physical features.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff has seized on Scheer’s earlier posts to accuse Collins of bigotry and press him to disclose more about his relationship with his son-in-law, including whether Scheer has done work for his campaign or family trucking company.

Ossoff spokeswoman Ellie Dougherty challenged him Friday to “finally answer questions about his ties to white nationalists” and added: “Georgians deserve better.”

Collins’ campaign declined comment. He has condemned antisemitism and said that “nobody speaks for me, and I don’t speak for anybody else.” When reporters pressed him last month for more details about Scheer, Collins said he has “fully addressed” the matter and said his focus was on defeating Ossoff.

Several questions remain unanswered. Collins’ campaign has not answered where Scheer has produced his social media content, though some of his videos appear to have been shot on or near Collins’ property.

Friday news quiz

Gov. Brian Kemp, seen here at the state Capitol last week. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Good morning! How closely did you follow the news this week? Find out by taking our quiz. You’ll find the answers at the end of the newsletter.

Natalie Harp, an aide to President Donald Trump, came under heavy scrutiny this week. What prompted the new attention on her job?

• A) She was photographed at the private Sea Island resort as the guest of lobbyists hired by Saudi Arabia.
• B) She had donated money to U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s unsuccessful 2017 campaign for a Georgia congressional district.
• C) Ossoff singled her out in a campaign speech, saying Trump would rather “fly with Natalie” than address the country’s problems.
• D) Her financial disclosure reports revealed some stock trades shortly before major administration announcements.

A Princeton University researcher exploited a known weakness in Georgia’s election system. What was he able to do?

• A) Determine with a “high level of confidence” who more than 2,200 people voted for in the May primaries.
• B) Capture the home addresses of Georgia’s registered voters.
• C) Cancel voter registrations of about 2,000 people in two counties.
• D) Alter the voting histories of about 10,000 people who voted absentee in recent elections.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp this week encouraged what major movie studio to relocate to Georgia?

• A) Paramount.
• B) Disney.
• C) Universal.
• D) Sony.

A Georgia politician prompted a debate over social media etiquette this week after telling a constituent to “shut up” in an Instagram comment. Who was it?

• A) Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.
• B) Savannah Mayor Van Johnson.
• C) U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick.
• D) Georgia state Senate Majority Leader Jason Anavitarte.

Hard stop

A MARTA bus is seen in front of the MARTA headquarters building in Atlanta last week. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Kadiatou Sanoh boarded a MARTA bus in January 2022. While digging through her purse to pay the fare, the driver pulled away and suddenly stopped to avoid hitting another car that pulled in front of him.

Sanoah fell and hit her head, causing “significant injuries.” She sued, and an appeals court ruled in MARTA’s favor. This week, the Georgia Supreme Court declined to review that ruling — although not everyone on the court is happy about it.

Four justices signed on to a lengthy dissent. They noted the legal standard is for MARTA to exercise “extraordinary diligence” to keep its passenger safe. The appeals court ruled MARTA did not breach this duty “by not giving a passenger enough time to sit down or otherwise secure herself.”

“I am not so sure about that,” Justice Andrew Pinson wrote.

“Not taking up this question leaves in place a rule … that cuts off liability as a matter of law in too many cases,” he added.

Georgia 2026

Georgia Republican nominee for governor Rick Jackson greets supporters at his election night party at the Omni at the Battery after the 2026 Georgia primary elections in May. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Republican nominee for governor Rick Jackson is putting affordability at the center of a new policy push with a package he unveiled Thursday that would suspend Georgia’s gas tax during sharp price spikes, eliminate state taxes on residential electricity and natural gas, and end state income taxes on tips.

Jackson is proposing a 60-day gas tax holiday when Georgia’s average price rises at least 35 cents in seven days or 75 cents in 30 days because of an international conflict, natural disaster or “comparable external shock.” The suspension could be extended in 30-day increments.

The plan also echoes some of Jackson’s broader tax agenda. He wants to freeze and eventually cut property taxes and slash Georgia’s income tax in half.

Also of note: Jackson is rolling out a show of law enforcement support. His campaign announced endorsements this morning from 104 sheriffs across Georgia.

Among the endorsers are Bulloch County Sheriff Noel Brown and Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman, the immediate past president of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association.

Listen up

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Have a question or comment for the show? Email us at politicallygeorgia@ajc.com or give us a call at 770-810-5297 and you could be featured on a future episode.

Data center politics

Savannah-area residents packed the Effingham College and Career Academy atrium last month for the OpenAI data center open house. (Adam Van Brimmer/AJC)

The OpenAI data center planned for the Savannah area promises to ease property tax burdens, and that relief could start this year.

The CEO of the Effingham County Industrial Development Authority on Thursday proposed pushing more than $115 million back to taxpayers over the next three years. Brandt Herndon shared the plan with the authority board after revealing the authority had received $350 million for the OpenAI’s 1,400-acre site.

“This will ensure this deal has an immediate impact on property taxes,” Herndon said.

OpenAI on July 22 announced plans to construct a $20 billion data center to open in 2028. Herndon and county government officials touted the tax ramifications of the deal: OpenAI will become Effingham’s largest taxpayer, and the county intends to use those proceeds to eliminate homestead property taxes and significantly reduce school taxes. Effingham neighbors Chatham County and Savannah.

Some people have pushed back against the data center. The deal was struck in secret, and the data center will use 3.2 gigawatts of electricity — nearly as much as three Plant Vogtle nuclear reactors — and be located adjacent to a residential subdivision and a school.

One of OpenAI’s future neighbors, Raymond Carver, spoke out against the data center and the tax proposal during a public comment period.

“Helping with my taxes is not something I asked for; I ask for quiet enjoyment of my home,” said Carver, whose home is close enough that it appears on an aerial photograph used by OpenAI for a data center site plan. “Keep your money.”

Also speaking out against the data center: former GOP candidate for lieutenant governor Jeanne Seaver. She finished last in the 2022 Republican primary won by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. She’s an Effingham County resident now and her daughter and son-in-law live in the same subdivision as Carver.