ATHENS, Ga. — U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, opposing candidates on the November ballot for Georgia’s U.S. Senate seat, made separate stops in Athens on Sunday, discussing health care and the economy while trading sharp political attacks.

Ossoff, the Democratic incumbent, held a rally alongside former Atlanta Mayor and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms.

“In one month, we will vote to defeat the bigot congressman, Trump puppet Mike Collins,” Ossoff said.

Ossoff also targeted Collins over controversies involving associates in the Republican congressman’s circle.

“Another reason so many Republicans are backing our campaign, and it’s the bigot congressman. Mike Collins was only a congressman because his daddy was a congressman, surrounded at work and at home by neo-Nazis and white nationalists,” Ossoff said.

The Collins campaign said his stop at Piedmont University was an official event organized by his congressional office and not an official campaign event. When asked about the Senate race, however, Collins pushed back against Ossoff’s record.

“Jon Ossoff has done nothing but make your life more expensive, less safe, and he has left the state worse off,” Collins said.

Collins made those remarks following a tour of Piedmont’s nursing program alongside Dr. Mehmet Oz, where the congressman emphasized the importance of health care access, particularly in rural Georgia.

Collins also fired back at Ossoff’s personal attacks, pointing to his own business background compared to the senator’s career.

“I’ve been in the private sector all my life. I’m a small businessman. I know what it feels like to be over there paying taxes and trying to teach families,” Collins said. “Jon is just a trust fund kid who’s never had a job in his life.”

Health care remains a central issue for Ossoff as well, marking one of several policy areas where the two candidates offer starkly contrasting visions.

With less than two months until the election, both campaigns are stepping up efforts to define the race for Georgia voters.

Election Day is Nov. 3.

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