On the Record: Scandals, staffers, and the battle for Georgia’s future

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — With the November midterms approaching, Georgia’s top political races are intensifying as candidates clash over ethics, campaign associations, state healthcare policies, and the future representation of the state’s congressional delegation.

The U.S. Senate race between incumbent Democrat Jon Ossoff and U.S. Rep. Mike Collins has centered on sharp personal and ethical criticisms.

Ossoff has repeatedly targeted Collins over campaign ethics and the backgrounds of individuals associated with his campaign and family. Key criticisms include controversial online content posted by Collins’s son-in-law, David Alan Shearer, and a former staffer who reportedly posted imagery containing anti-Semitic, white nationalist, and Ku Klux Klan sentiments.

Collins condemned the staffer’s actions, calling the posts “vile” and “unhinged.”

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Conversely, Collins and critics have targeted Ossoff over his policy positions regarding Israel, criticizing the incumbent senator for voting against several key foreign war aid packages.

In the race for Georgia governor, Democrat and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican healthcare executive Rick Jackson are facing off in a campaign marked by heavy spending and personal tension.

Jackson’s campaign has run a series of ads criticizing Bottoms’ mayoral tenure, focusing on her administration’s handling of taxpayer funds and a past city purchasing card controversy involving $2,600 spent on Super Bowl flights for her family.

Bottoms stated the error was corrected and the city was fully reimbursed. Bottoms recently confronted Jackson publicly, demanding that campaign ads avoid targeting her family.

Meanwhile, Bottoms has criticized Jackson’s business ties, specifically his company’s lucrative state staffing contracts dating back to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bottoms proposed closing loopholes that allow active state officials to maintain contracts with the state. Jackson defended the agreements, noting his contract includes a 30-day exit clause that would allow him to sever ties before taking office if elected.

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Healthcare policy remains a focal point of the gubernatorial debate, particularly the question of Medicaid expansion.

The Georgia Department of Community Health is currently holding public hearings regarding a request to the federal government for $1.4 billion to boost Medicaid reimbursement rates to 90%. While full expansion has been blocked by current state leadership citing concerns over long-term taxpayer costs, some rural Republicans have broken ranks in legislative sessions to support broader coverage measures.

• Georgia rural hospitals to receive almost $94 million in federal healthcare funding

The issue will fall to the next governor as rural facilities face growing challenges, highlighted by the recent closure of the birthing unit at a Lithonia-area hospital.

In a special election to temporarily fill the congressional seat left vacant by the passing of U.S. Rep. David Scott, voters selected former Gwinnett County school board chairman Everton Blair.

Blair defeated Marcye Scott, the late congressman’s daughter, in the special election. He will serve in the U.S. House of Representatives through January.

Blair’s short-term priorities include securing federal agricultural funding for Georgia farmers and participating in upcoming votes regarding foreign policy and the Iran war.

Democrat Jasmine Clark and Republican Jonathan Chavez will contest the full term for the seat in November.

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