The past week has brought another onslaught of negative headlines for Rep. Mike Collins (R-Jackson), whose Senate campaign has become increasingly embroiled in scandals over ties to white nationalists.
On Thursday morning, the Washington Post reported that it had found images of a former Collins staffer, Preston Parra, posting swastikas and dressed in Ku Klux Klan robes. When asked by the Post about the posts, Parra claimed they were “satirical” but offered no apology. “I do think that the white race contributes more to the world,” he said.
Incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, whom Collins is challenging in November, called the conduct “disgraceful and disqualifying” at a press conference on Thursday.
The Parra story arrived on top of a separate and ongoing controversy involving Collins’ son-in-law, David Alan Scheer II.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found that Scheer had made social media comments calling for the repeal of the 19th Amendment—the constitutional provision that guarantees women the right to vote.
He also argued that there should be only one vote per household, an idea that echoes “head-of-household voting” rhetoric that has surfaced in some far-right circles, and one critics say would functionally erase married women’s votes.
This isn’t new. Back in July, CNN reported that Scheer had been sharing content from white nationalist groups, including Patriot Front, a fascist group that treats multiculturalism, immigration, and diversity as existential threats to America.
Collins’ response? “Nobody speaks for me, and I don’t speak for anybody else.”
His campaign issued general statements condemning racism and antisemitism, but critics, including Black lawmakers and faith leaders, say he needs to address the connection head-on. He still hasn’t answered whether Scheer—who is registered to vote at a property Collins owns—has ever worked out of that address or received payment from him. And at a press conference, Collins refused to directly answer whether he shares his son-in-law’s white nationalist views.
Scheer and Parra haven’t been the only controversial figures in Collins’ orbit during this election cycle. His former chief of staff, Kip Talley, was caught in a group chat with white nationalist Nick Fuentes, in which the two were coordinating efforts to free another white nationalist and Holocaust denier from prison.
Some Republicans worry the mounting scandals could further diminish Collins’ chances against Ossoff, who is already leading in every major poll.
“In the South, we have a saying: You lay down with dogs, you get up with fleas. Well, Mike Collins has got a lot of fleas on him,” well-known conservative activistDebbie Dooley told the Washington Post.
