Mike Collins and Jon Ossoff battle in Georgia’s U.S. Senate race

But national polling has now moved the race from a tossup to one favoring a second term for Ossoff. Collins campaign has been mired in a series of controversies, while Ossoff is generating presidential buzz among some Democrats.

Plus, it’s hard to navigate a sagging approval rating for President Donald Trump that has been a drag on Republicans nationwide.

Here are the candidates.

U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (Republican)

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Collins is running a MAGA-tinged campaign bolstered by Trump’s endorsement.

The Jackson native, whose father was in Congress for more than a decade, owns and operates a family-founded Middle Georgia trucking business.

Elected to the U.S. House in 2022, Collins has cultivated a combative online presence, pushing inflammatory and sometimes false claims on social media that his detractors have called racist, antisemitic or xenophobic. Supporters see him as a pro-Trump fighter who is unbothered by media criticism.

He’s a staunch supporter of Trump’s agenda, especially when it comes to immigration. Collins sponsored the Laken Riley Act, named for the nursing student murdered while jogging on the University of Georgia campus.

The law, which even won support from Ossoff and some other Democrats, gives immigration agencies broader authority to detain immigrants who are in the country illegally and accused of a crime.

Collins has been embroiled in a House ethics inquiry involving allegations that his then-Chief of Staff Brandon Phillips misused taxpayer funds by being paid for unofficial or unauthorized purposes and hiring his girlfriend for a no-show internship.

Collins, who has denied any wrongdoing, stood by Phillips before cutting ties in May after he made a crude social media post.

He’s also faced scrutiny for social media messages from his son-in-law, David Alan Scheer II, who has used Nazi imagery, spread antisemitic conspiracy theories and promoted white nationalist propaganda to a large online following.

See where Collins stands on the issues

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff (Democrat — Incumbent)

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Ossoff first attracted national attention when he came close to flipping Georgia’s 6th Congressional District in a 2017 special election.

A documentary filmmaker who interned for the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis and worked as a legislative aide for U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, Ossoff was a virtual unknown when he entered a special election for the U.S. House race in the north Atlanta suburbs.

But the race was seen as an early referendum on Trump’s first term and Ossoff quickly amassed national attention and money. He capitalized on both when he launched his 2020 bid to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. David Perdue.

Ossoff narrowly beat Perdue in a 2021 runoff, becoming the first Jewish U.S. senator from Georgia and the chamber’s youngest member.

In the Senate, Ossoff has built a reputation as an anti-corruption crusader and master at delivering punchy, viral attacks on Trump and Republicans.

Ossoff was chair of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and has continued to use his office to probe issues such as allegations of abuse at immigration detention facilities and the problems faced by military families living in privatized housing.

Despite his background, Ossoff has angered some in the Jewish community with votes against sending some military aid to Israel. The votes have emerged as a campaign issue, and Ossoff risks losing a vital constituency if the race is close.

A prodigious fundraiser, he also faces criticism from Collins and his allies for a donor network that relies on a national footprint, along with attacks claiming he’s more interested in a 2028 bid than serving Georgia. Ossoff has repeatedly said he won’t run for president.

See where Ossoff stands on the issues