Public disputes concerning the 2026 U.S. midterm election cycle, including campaigns, candidates, conventions, advertising, endorsements, and election-related policy promises.
At an Atlanta rally, Jon Ossoff said Donald Trump wanted to “travel with Natalie” on a Qatari aircraft instead of doing presidential work. Trump allies alleged misogyny and an affair insinuation; Ossoff defended scrutiny of powerful, taxpayer-paid aides.
At an August 11 event, Mike Collins said the federal government has a liability when it harms someone, answering a pardoned January 6 defendant’s question about compensation. Jon Ossoff called that support for taxpayer-funded payments to violent participants; Collins’s campaign denied automatic or blanket payouts.
Jon Ossoff’s campaign used Mike Collins’s “get off of Social Security” remark to say he would push beneficiaries off the program. Collins’s campaign said he misspoke and meant Medicaid; Ossoff’s campaign said the ad fairly reflected his support for pressuring beneficiaries into work.
Mike Rogers attributed a belief about 9/11 to Abdul El-Sayed based on his association with Hasan Piker. El-Sayed rejected that belief and challenged the premise that campaigning together establishes agreement.
Role at the time: United States representative, Meet the Press interview
Explicitly stayed out
Responding to
Hasan Piker’s “Hamas over Israel” comparison
"I think all of that is an irrelevant distraction."
Why we used this label
Raskin calls the dispute a distraction and expressly says it will not be worked out before the election, redirecting to domestic priorities. Criticism of Hamas and Netanyahu is not a mixed stance on Piker’s inclusion.
Role at the time: United States representative from Michigan
Explicitly stayed out
Responding to
Hasan Piker’s remarks about American Jews, Israel, and antisemitic violence
"I don't agree with Hasan Piker on a lot of stuff."
Why we used this label
Dingell directly tells reporters not to ask again and redirects to the election. General disagreement with Piker on unspecified matters is not a substantive mixed position on this passage.
Role at the time: Abdul El-Sayed's U.S. Senate campaign team responding to Reuters; individual spokesperson unnamed
Explicitly stayed out
Responding to
Abdul El-Sayed’s Sharia-law defense: religious freedom or support for religious government?
"El-Sayed’s campaign team declined to comment."
Why we used this label
Reuters explicitly records a decline in response to its inquiry. The evidence supports a campaign-level refusal, not silence, an endorsement of any characterization or a personal refusal by El-Sayed.
JD Vance is the vice president of the United States and a former U.S. senator from Ohio. A Marine Corps veteran, he worked as a startup investor and wrote the memoir Hillbilly Elegy before his Senate election.
Jamie Raskin is a Democratic United States representative from Maryland and a constitutional-law scholar. He serves on the House Judiciary Committee and previously taught constitutional law.
Travis Akers is an American educator, retired U.S. Navy intelligence officer, and advocate for military families. Based in Jacksonville, Florida, he writes and speaks about veterans' affairs, public education, gun safety, and politics.
Mike Collins is a Republican U.S. representative from Georgia's 10th Congressional District and the Republican nominee for the 2026 United States Senate election in Georgia.