COLUMBUS — There was no debate stage or face-to-face political clash. But a Georgia Chamber event Wednesday offered the first chance rival U.S. Senate candidates could lay out their visions to an influential audience under one roof.
In back-to-back sessions, Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff along with two of the Republicans vying to challenge him — U.S. Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins — used the legislative luncheon to sketch competing ideas for how government should work.
Ossoff critiqued the rollback of international aid under President Donald Trump and said Georgia businesses must now navigate a thicket of trade uncertainty because of his administration’s tariffs.
“We are alienating key international partners while paralyzing much of the business community,” he said. “Because you don’t know what the rules of the road for international trade will be from one day to the next, let alone from one quarter or a year to the next.”
Collins pitched himself as an everyman’s voice as he described how he navigates legislation through a labyrinthine Congress.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
“I can talk to people and tell them what the general motoring public is saying, and how we actually feel about the bill,” the Jackson Republican said. “You can talk to different factions, whether they’re far-right or in the middle, or actually moderate Republicans, and have something in common with them.”
He criticized then-President Barack Obama’s 2010 health care overhaul for adding new regulations, and slipped in a crowd-pleasing line about pushing a comprehensive federal rewrite of litigation rules that could favor more business owners.
Carter predicted the Republican-backed tax-and-spending act could spark more domestic energy production and juice the economy, while highlighting efforts to rollback construction regulations to keep pace with international competitors.
“We’ve got to do better. We’ve got to have permitting reform,” said Carter, who lives in St. Simons Island.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
“I love the environment. Coastal Georgia is my home. Of course I love it. But at the same time, we’ve got to be realistic about the impact we’re having on businesses.”
Watching from the crowd was another key Republican seeking Ossoff’s seat: former football coach Derek Dooley, who is trying to build his case as an outsider politician who can unite the GOP and win a general election.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Few of the main policy divides — from economic strategy to culture war clashes — surfaced from the stage. But it did give the hundreds of business executives and elected officials who help shape the state’s policies a glimpse of the issues that will help define a nationally watched Senate race.
There were lighter moments, too. U.S. Rep. Austin Scott of Tifton urged the audience to “reject antagonism” and move beyond social media sound bites to shape their policies. And former U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, who retired last year, seemed liberated as he cracked jokes about the “hot mess” in Washington.
“We refer to it as puberty for grown-ups,” said Ferguson. “Everybody’s emotional and nobody’s making good decisions.”
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