A former staffer for Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) shared images on his social media account of a swastika and of himself in Ku Klux Klan robes, and other Republicans are increasingly concerned about a string of white supremacist controversies trailing his Senate campaign.
The former intern, 24-year-old Preston Parra, who has described himself as a "twink fascist," told the Washington Post the KKK image was made with Grok's AI tool and claimed his posts are "satirical," and while he denied being a white supremacist, he posted "white power" in June and July and has made plainly racist statements.
"I do think that the white race contributes more to the world," Parra said.
Collins is challenging Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) in November in a race critical to Senate control, where Republicans currently hold a 53-47 edge. Several Georgia Republicans told the Post they're worried about a pattern of troubling associations around the GOP congressman.
"In the South, we have a saying: You lay down with dogs, you get up with fleas," said Debbie Dooley, an original tea party organizer who backed Collins's primary rival. "Well, Mike Collins has got a lot of fleas on him."
Collins's campaign did not answer detailed questions about Parra, instead issuing a statement calling antisemitism "abhorrent" and criticizing Ossoff, who is Jewish, for allegedly not condemning antisemitism on the left.
Collins's own social media has drawn scrutiny for posts critics describe as racist and antisemitic, which he denies.
His former chief of staff, Brandon Phillips, was dismissed after a campaign account mocked a rival's operative and separately faces a House ethics review over an intern hire.
A subsequent chief of staff, Kip Talley, was replaced in July after Slate reported he'd joined a group chat with white nationalists Nick Fuentes and Richard Spencer.
In May, ex-aide William Paul, son of Sen. Rand Paul, hurled antisemitic insults at Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) at a bar.
CNN also reported that Collins's son-in-law David Alan Scheer II shared Nazi imagery online, including polling followers on a video titled "why Gen-Z doesn't hate Hitler." Collins said his son-in-law "has had no role in my campaign whatsoever."
Some conservatives say the pattern is costing Collins support. "We do not need a senator that thinks he's a media influencer on X and has no integrity," Dooley said.
Radio host Shelley Wynter said he's endorsing Ossoff instead, citing "the meanness and mean-spiritedness" of Collins's campaign.
Collins also remains under a House Ethics Committee review over alleged misuse of government funds tied to Phillips, which a watchdog report recommended pursuing via subpoena. Collins has called the probe a "nothingburger."