Collins calls former staffers' views abhorrent but says their activity came after they left
Mike CollinsU.S. representative from Georgia and Republican Senate nominee, speaking to reporters at the Republican Jewish Coalition leadership summit in Las Vegas
Speaking to reporters at the Republican Jewish Coalition leadership summit, Collins called his former staffers' views abhorrent and contrary to his values, said their activity came after they had left his team, and said vetting cannot predict what staff do after they leave.
Responding to
The former staffers' objectionable views and activity came after they had left Collins's team.
“Those staffers — those views are abhorrent, and they don’t represent my values ... this was after they were on my team and gone ... I can’t see into the future, but regardless I still don’t agree with them, period ... We can vet all day long, but what happens when they leave and they go out into the future — that’s a different question. But I certainly don’t want people around me like that.”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Did Mike Collins hire aides with white nationalist ties, as Jon Ossoff claimed?
At the October 8, 2026 Georgia Senate debate, Sen. Jon Ossoff told Rep. Mike Collins he had hired "half the Third Reich" to staff his congressional office and had promoted neo-Nazi content online. The charge followed months of reporting about a former Collins chief of staff, a former intern, Collins's son-in-law and two campaign organizers. Collins says he condemns racism and antisemitism and fired people when problems arose. Whether those aides and associations match Ossoff's description is disputed.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Jewish Insider reports Collins's comments to reporters about his former staffers, including his statement that their activity came after they left his team. The report notes that Talley's group chat activity took place while he worked for Collins.
Before the quotation
Collins spoke to reporters about his former staffers at the summit. Jewish Insider pressed him on whether he would change how his office vets staff.
After the quotation
Jewish Insider noted that Kip Talley's group chat messages were sent while he still worked for Collins. Collins went on to say young people need education and opportunity to resist radicalization and contrasted his record on Israel with Ossoff's.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to Collins's staffing and associations as Ossoff characterized them, Collins condemns his former staffers' views as abhorrent but disputes that he hired people who held them, saying their activity came after they had left his team. He disputes how his hiring is described rather than defending the views, so we used challenges the characterization.
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More from this case
Read the full caseJosh Marshall says Ossoff's Third Reich line stated facts in the public record
“Ossoff didn’t call Mike Collins a Nazi. ... This isn’t some random swipe. It’s been one of the biggest stories of the campaign season that week after week reporters keep finding members of Collins campaign, political operation or family who are associated with far-right or neo-Nazi individuals and organizations or who distribute anti-Semitic propaganda. This is merely an aggressive statement of facts that are unambiguously in the public record.”Read statement
Brooks tells Ossoff to stop calling opponents Nazis but calls Collins's circle disturbing
“Jon Ossoff, my advice to him is, if you start calling your political opponents Nazis, maybe it's time to shut up. That's just not what we do here in this country. And the Bull Connor stuff -- and a lot of these candidates have real weaknesses. Like, Mike Collins, who's the Georgia Republican, I think what's accurate to say about him is, he has a disturbing number of young men on his -- around him who have ties to the alt-right and some of the vile antisemitic stuff online.”Read statement
Filipkowski calls Ossoff's line hyperbolic but says Collins hired the Third Reich's disciples
“While it was a bit hyperbolic for Ossoff to say that Mike Collins hired half the Third Reich to staff his office, it is accurate to say he hired their disciples.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Collins calls former staffers' views abhorrent but says their activity came after they left". First published: 2026-10-13. Last updated: 2026-10-13. https://disputeindex.com/events/5647-speaking-to-reporters-at-the-republican-jewish-coalition