For nearly two weeks, Rep. Mike Collins—the Republican running for US Senate in Georgia—has said almost nothing about his son-in-law’s ties to white nationalism.
Neither has the rest of the Republican Party, including key groups and figures like the Senate Leadership Fund, the Republican Party of Georgia, and even the party’s most prominent “moderates” such as Sen. Susan Collins of Maine.
Meanwhile, criticism is mounting from Democratic leaders across the country and Georgia voters who say that Rep. Collins has not done enough to repudiate his ties with antisemitic, homophobic, and racist individuals.
CNN has reported that Rep. Collins’ son-in-law, David Alan Scheer, is a pro-white nationalist social media influencer who has regularly posted antisemitic material and Nazi imagery. During the July Fourth weekend, he shared multiple posts from the white supremacist group Patriot Front.
According to George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, Patriot Front is a white nationalist and fascist organization that views multiculturalism, immigration, and diversity as “existential threats.” Members of the group have been arrested on charges tied to inciting a riot at a protest of an LGBTQ+ Pride parade and to the violent assault of Charles Murrell III, a Black man, in Boston.
In a video Scheer shared, a Patriot Front leader described the group’s “enemies” as ranging from “the Jewish cabals to the Mexican cartels, from the African criminals, to the homosexual peddlers of vice and exploitation.”
Scheer isn’t some distant in-law Collins barely knows. He’s married to Collins’s daughter, Summer, and is registered to vote at a property Collins owns. CNN reports he has recorded promotional videos for Collins’s family trucking company, appeared in Collins’s campaign photos, and attended his primary-night victory party.
In a statement, a spokesperson said: “Rep. Collins has always condemned all forms of antisemitism, including this, and always will regardless of the source. Collins’ lifelong support for Israel and the Jewish people is guided by his personal beliefs and backed by his consistent voting record.”
However, Collins’ campaign has not addressed the anti-Black, anti-immigrant, and homophobic content that Scheer has shared. This is particularly notable in Georgia, where Black residents make up nearly one-third of the population and where many groups and activists have long served as a bastion in the fight for racial justice.
Not an isolated incident
This is not the first time Collins has been tied to white nationalism and racist conduct.
Collins recently fired his chief of staff, Kip Talley, after texts emerged showing Talley in a group chat with white nationalist influencer Nick Fuentes. Fuentes is virulently antisemitic. He’s said he wants to outlaw homosexuality, strip women of the right to work and vote, and has called Jim Crow—the violent apartheid system that governed the South for nearly a century—”better” for Black Americans.
In the text thread, Talley said he was working on behalf of Charles Johnson, a Holocaust denier who has regularly used racial slurs online. “I’m going to try and use the levers of the legislative branch to check into his detention,” Talley wrote, later adding: “I’m reaching out to my people at FBI and DOJ. Trying to get [Johnson] out.”
Collins himself has also faced backlash. In 2024, he shared a video of a massive group of white, predominantly male students at the University of Mississippi shouting at a Black female protestor. One of the white students made ape-like gestures and sounds. Collins reposted the video, writing, “Ole Miss taking care of business.” The NAACP called for an ethics investigation into Collins’ conduct, but none was ever launched. Georgia State Sen. Josh McLaurin said in a speech that some Republicans privately condemned Collins’ social media posts, but none went on the record publicly with their criticism. Collins later said he did not condone “any form of discrimination” but did not delete the post.
As Democrats press for answers, Republicans stay silent
This week, Democratic senators have called for their Republican colleagues to condemn the behavior. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is Jewish and is running against Collins, called Collins a “known bigot and antisemite.” He asked pointedly: “How much has Mike Collins paid neo-Nazi David Alan Scheer and is Scheer still based on Collins’ property? Mike Collins must apologize immediately for his and his office’s disqualifying ties to neo-Nazi ideology and notorious white supremacists.”
Referring to the Talley-Fuentes chat, Ossoff added that a congressional office “briefing white supremacists on efforts on behalf of a Holocaust denier should be career-ending and is certainly disqualifying for a promotion to the United States Senate.”
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) joined the pressure campaign yesterday, July 28, in a post on X: “The reporting is clear: Mike Collins has ties to white nationalists, and his office worked to free a Holocaust denier from jail. Will Senate Republicans condemn it? Will Collins say whether he paid a Neo-Nazi a single dime? Voters deserve answers.”
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) went further, noting the timeline: “It’s been over 10 days since this story came out and Mike Collins has yet to condemn these antisemitic figures in his orbit — including his son-in-law and a top advisor. At a time when antisemitism is on the rise, leaders seeking to serve in the U.S. Senate cannot be silent and let this bigotry be normalized. It’s not only shameful, it’s disqualifying. Will others in Mike Collins’ party speak out?”
So far, the answer to that question has largely been no. Collins’ campaign has not directly addressed Scheer’s posts or Talley’s role in the Fuentes chat. Beyond the brief statement emphasizing his condemnation of antisemitism and support for Israel, Collins has refused to answer direct questions about his relationship with Scheer.
Outside his own campaign, the silence has been broader. Despite the scope of these allegations, party organizations and figures—including those from the party’s moderate wing—have not commented. Neither the Senate Leadership Fund, the Republican Party of Georgia, nor Sen. Susan Collins responded when Courier Georgia asked whether this conduct and web of relationships was appropriate for a sitting House member now seeking a Senate seat.
