Jon Ossoff puts Mike Collins on ‘trial’ in fiery U.S. Senate debate

Today’s newsletter highlights:

• Test your knowledge with our news quiz.
• Lawrenceville cancels council election after only one candidate qualifies.
• News conference escalates family of Secoriea Turner’s fight over Rick Jackson campaign ads.

Fightin’ words

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff entered Thursday’s debate against Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins with a commanding lead in the polls, a fundraising advantage and signs that national Republicans were shifting resources away from his challenger.

But you wouldn’t have known it from his performance at the Atlanta News First showdown, where he positioned himself as an underdog with something to prove.

The Democratic incumbent used the debate to put Collins on the spot, challenging him more than a dozen times over his ties to white nationalists, an ongoing ethics investigation and his support for President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Ossoff laid the groundwork for that strategy from the outset, declaring that Georgia voters were about to witness the “trial of Mike Collins.” And he spent the next hour trying to deliver the case.

Ossoff even turned a question about data centers into a personal attack, accusing Collins of having “hired half the Third Reich to staff your congressional office.”

And he invoked his mentor with a particularly bruising broadside: “If John Lewis were marching today from Selma to Montgomery, Mike Collins would be grabbing a billy club.”

Collins swung back by portraying Ossoff as an out-of-touch liberal who votes in lockstep with far-left figures, repeatedly citing podcaster Hasan Piker and Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed.

“He doesn’t represent us,” Collins said in his closing statement. “He wants to take control of this country with these weird and dangerous ideas with his radical friends.”

Nor did Collins back down from defending Trump’s policies each time Ossoff linked the two together. He argued that tariffs were making trade fairer for U.S. workers and that the ongoing war against Iran was justified to prevent Tehran from building a nuclear weapon.

But the debate unfolded as a reversal of roles.

Collins was the candidate who needed to shake up a race that has increasingly tilted toward Democrats, and he landed some punches that will rev up his supporters.

Yet it was Ossoff who spent much of the night keeping Collins in the defendant’s chair.

Friday news quiz

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:

Democratic nominee for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms was asked about the death penalty during an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s editorial board. What did she say?

• A) She opposes it.
• B) She supports it.
• C) She declined to answer.
• D) She is “deeply conflicted” about it.

A New York man was arrested this week and charged with threatening what Georgia politician?

• A) U.S. Rep. Mike Collins.
• B) U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff.
• C) Gov. Brian Kemp.
• D) U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock.

Atlanta News First hosted a debate with the candidates for governor this week. Who did Republican nominee Rick Jackson invoke as political model?

• A) President Donald Trump.
• B) Gov. Brian Kemp.
• C) Former President Ronald Reagan.
• D) Former Gov. Nathan Deal.

Atlanta City Council member Liliana Bakhtiari proposed new restrictions for the use of artificial intelligence. What would her proposal do?

• A) Ban using AI in political ads for city offices.
• B) Place limits on the use of AI customer service representatives.
• C) Restrict the use of AI in city accounting practices.
• D) Ban police from using AI to fire lethal weapons without human oversight.

No show

Darion Ward, you can relax.

The Lawrenceville Planning Commission member filed to run for a seat on the City Council to replace Bruce Johnson, who is moving out of state to be closer to his grandchild.

Ward was the only candidate to qualify for the seat. Plus, no one filed to run as a write-in candidate. That prompted the city to cancel the election, scheduled for Nov. 3.

Instead of campaigning for the final month, Ward will be sworn in to his new office on Tuesday, the first day of early voting. We know all the other candidates are jealous.

More debates

Ossoff and Collins are scheduled to debate again next week as one of the marquee matchups of the The Atlanta Press Club’s Loudermilk-Young debate series.

But for other candidates, the debates Monday and Tuesday will be their first and only face-off.

The debates, produced as part of a longstanding partnership with Georgia Public Broadcasting, will be streamed live on GPB.org and The Atlanta Press Club’s YouTube Debate channel, where they will remain available on demand. Many will also broadcast on GPB member stations.

Below is the list of debates in the order they will occur.

Monday:

• Lieutenant governor: Republican Greg Dolezal and Democrat Josh McLaurin. Livestreaming at 1:30 p.m., broadcast at 7 p.m.
• Attorney general: Democrat Tanya Miller and Republican Brian Strickland. Livestreaming at 2:45 p.m., broadcast at 7:30 p.m.
• Secretary of state: Republican Tim Fleming and Democrat Penny Brown Reynolds. Livestreaming at 2:45 p.m., broadcast on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
• Public Service Commission, District 3: Democrat Peter Hubbard will appear on stage alone; Republican Fitz Johnson declined the invitation. Livestreaming at 5:30 p.m., broadcast on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
• Public Service Commission, District 5: Democrat Sheila Edwards and Republican Josh Tolbert. Livestreaming at 6:30 p.m., broadcast on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
• Governor: Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms will appear on stage alone; Republican Rick Jackson declined the invitation. Streaming and broadcast live at 8 p.m.

Tuesday:

• State schools superintendent: Democrat Lydia Powell and Republican Richards Woods. Livestreaming at 2:30 p.m., broadcast on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
• Agriculture commissioner: Republican Tyler Harper and Democrat Katherine Juhan-Arnold. Livestreaming at 3:45 p.m., broadcast on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.
• Insurance commissioner: Republican John King and Democrat Keisha Waites. Livestreaming at 4:45 p.m., broadcast on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
• Labor commissioner: Republican Bárbara Rivera Holmes and Democrat Nikki Porcher. Livestreaming at 6 p.m., broadcast on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
• U.S. Senate: Collins and Ossoff. Streaming and broadcast live at 8 p.m.

‘Take it down’

Last week, the mother of an 8-year-old girl who was shot and killed in Atlanta in 2020 asked Jackson’s campaign to stop using a photo of the child in a campaign mailer. This week, the Jackson campaign launched a TV ad featuring not only a photo of the girl, but a portion of the mother’s anguished 911 call.

The new ad prompted attorneys for Secoriea Turner’s family to hold a news conference Thursday demanding that Jackson take down the ad.

“We’ll continue to tell the stories of Keisha Lance Bottoms’ failures as mayor,” the campaign told our colleague Riley Bunch.

Attorneys for the family said the don’t think there is a legal pathway to force Jackson to remove the ad.

“It’s morally irresponsible, and the court of public opinion — I believe — will hold him accountable,” attorney Shean Williams said.

Listen up

Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast, MS NOW host Chris Hayes joins the show to discuss the Democratic Party’s future and what Georgia’s midterm races tell us about the politics shaping both parties.

You can listen and subscribe to “Politically Georgia” for free on Apple Podcasts, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.