Ossoff and Collins spar over Collins’ son-in-law

(GPB News) — Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins continue to trade barbs over a report linking Collins’ son-in-law to racist and antisemitic social media posts. Both lawmakers spoke to journalists Thursday.

In an online press conference, Ossoff said Collins, who is running for Ossoff’s U.S. Senate seat, should be transparent about his personal and financial ties to his son-in-law, David Scheer.

“He needs to answer for his well-documented ties to neo-Nazis and white supremacists,” Ossoff said.

CNN reported two weeks ago that Scheer has posted white supremacist and antisemitic content on social media. Since then, Ossoff has slammed his challenger over the report.

Meanwhile, Collins held a press conference while visiting a Monroe County hospital in Middle Georgia to talk about his proposals for making healthcare more affordable, such as lowering prescription drug costs.

“We should continue expanding the health savings accounts, incentivize people to take advantage of tax deductions and the savings that comes with that,” he said at the press conference,

But reporters quickly shifted to questions about Scheer.

“You know, we’ve fully addressed that, but Jon Ossoff refuses to disavow these Democrat socialist movements in our country,” Collins said in response.

Reporters continued to press Collins for a few seconds more until Collins waved goodbye to the press and left.

Collins has not disclosed whether Scheer has ever been paid by his congressional or campaign offices, but he appears to have narrated videos for Collins’ trucking company.

Collins himself has faced criticism in the past for his social media posts, which critics have called inflammatory.

GPB’s Grant Blankenship contributed to this report