Mike Collins on Racism

Public disputes concerning racism, racial stereotypes, discrimination, and alleged unequal treatment based on race.

How we classify topics

Counts show individual statements. They do not assign an overall position.

Statement history

3 statements on this page. Dates: August 30, 2026 to October 8, 2026

3 matching statements. Dates: August 30, 2026 to October 8, 2026

3 published statements. Dates: August 30, 2026 to October 8, 2026

Defended or excused

1 published statement. Dates: October 8, 2026

1 statement on this page. Dates: October 8, 2026

Mike Collins

Role at the time: U.S. representative from Georgia and Republican Senate nominee, speaking at the debate

October 8, 2026Defended or excused

Response to this claim

Collins fired the people around him whose conduct drew scrutiny once problems came to light.

“You know, Rick, that’s my family. That’s the craziness that Jon Ossoff has been spewing out there. I actually had a crazy person get put in jail this weekend, because he not only wanted to kill my son-in-law, but he wanted to kill me. And you’re exactly right. I’ve got a daughter and grandkids there, as well as my wife. I’ve condemned racism, anti-Semitism, hate. I don’t care where the source is. And I tell him that, too. It’s wrong. We have no place in this world for that. But I’ve never heard him say a word about his DSA pick up there, Abdul El Saeed, Hassan Piker. How about Reid Hoffman? None of those. He doesn’t denounce anybody or anything or condemn them, because he’s part of them. But yet he wants to take that and spew that on me. That’s not me. When I had things happen, I’m a businessman. I fired them. I got rid of them. Don’t need them.”

Challenged the characterization

2 published statements. Dates: August 30, 2026 to October 7, 2026

2 statements on this page. Dates: August 30, 2026 to October 7, 2026

Mike Collins

Role at the time: Mike Collins U.S. Senate campaign, through spokesperson Meyer Siegfried

October 7, 2026Challenged the characterization

Statement summary

Responding to a report that two county convoy captains had held leadership roles in American Patriots USA, a group founded by a former Ku Klux Klan leader, the Collins campaign said it had not known of their past associations and that their views do not represent Collins.

“The past associations of these individuals was not known to the campaign, and these views do not represent Mike Collins or the more than 800 Convoy Captains around the state that want leaders who will deliver a prosperous, safer, and more affordable Georgia.”

Open sourceReport: Collins campaign leaders tied to group founded by former KKK leaderCollins campaign statement and Ossoff statement

FOX 5 Atlanta summarizes the Daily Beast report and quotes the Collins campaign's statement that the organizers' past associations were not known to the campaign, along with Ossoff's response.

Why we used this label

Relative to Collins's associations as Ossoff characterized them, the campaign says the organizers' past associations were not known to it and that their views do not represent Collins. It distances Collins from the organizers' views rather than defending them, disputing that the appointments reflect his own views, so we used challenges the characterization.

Read statement Did Mike Collins hire aides with white nationalist ties, as Jon Ossoff claimed?

Mike Collins

Role at the time: U.S. representative from Georgia and Republican Senate nominee, speaking to reporters at the Republican Jewish Coalition leadership summit in Las Vegas

August 30, 2026Challenged the characterization

Response to this claim

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.”

Open sourceRep. Mike Collins calls former staffers' antisemitic views 'abhorrent,' offers no vetting changesCollins's remarks to reporters at the Republican Jewish Coalition leadership summit in Las Vegas