Georgia U.S. Senate candidate: Rep. Mike Collins
Rep. Mike Collins at a campaign rally in Butts County on Aug. 19, 2025. (FOX 5)
ATLANTA - Georgia Rep. Mike Collins and Sen. Jon Ossoff are competing in Georgia’s Nov. 3 general election. Early voting runs from Oct. 13 through Oct. 30.
Georgia’s 2026 midterm election: The major races and candidates
Personal background and education
Collins was born and raised in Jackson, Georgia, where he still lives. He earned a business degree from Georgia State University. He and his wife, Leigh Ann, have three adult children and four grandchildren.
Business and congressional career
Collins and his wife started a trucking company in the early 1990s. The business grew to employ more than 100 people. Collins also served as a credit union board member and chairman and as president of his local chamber of commerce before entering Congress.
He represents Georgia’s 10th Congressional District. His campaign points to the Laken Riley Act, which he sponsored and which became law in 2025, as a major legislative achievement. The law allows federal immigration officials to detain immigrants charged with certain crimes.
Campaign platform: Economy and taxes
Collins supports tax cuts, deregulation and expanded domestic energy production. He argues those policies can lower costs and encourage businesses to grow. He voted for the 2025 tax-and-spending law signed by President Donald Trump; Collins has made that vote a campaign issue, while Ossoff has criticized the law’s Medicaid reductions and distribution of tax benefits.
Campaign platform: Immigration and public safety
Collins supports Trump’s mass deportation campaign and has made immigration enforcement a central issue. He argues that illegal immigration puts pressure on housing and public services. He also has called for tougher action against fentanyl and other illegal drugs.
Campaign platform: Health care
Collins has criticized the Affordable Care Act and says health care costs should be reduced through market-based approaches. He voted for the 2025 law that included Medicaid spending cuts, while also supporting its $50 billion in rural health care funding. He has promoted legislation addressing veterans’ access to opioid records and the risk of overprescribing.
Campaign platform: Workforce and housing
Collins supports career and technical education, including expanding the ways families can use 529 savings plans for technical training. He also backs changes to federal permitting rules, arguing that fewer construction delays could help increase housing supply and lower costs.
Campaign platform: Foreign policy and other issues
Collins describes his foreign policy approach as "peace through strength" and supports reducing what he calls open-ended foreign spending. He has backed Trump’s handling of the war with Iran. Collins supports Georgia’s current abortion law and has opposed using federal money for abortions.
Campaign scrutiny and responses
Collins’ campaign has faced questions about online posts by people connected to him. His former chief of staff, Kip Talley, was reported to have participated in a group chat with far-right figures Nick Fuentes and Richard Spencer. Collins’ campaign said Talley was no longer employed or affiliated with the congressman and said Collins condemns antisemitism and hate.
A former campaign staffer also drew scrutiny after photos surfaced showing him in a Ku Klux Klan uniform and with a swastika image. Collins’ campaign called the posts "vile" and said Collins condemned them; Collins said the staffer was no longer with the campaign. At an Oct. 8 debate, Collins was also questioned about antisemitic and white nationalist commentary posted online by his son-in-law.
SOURCES
- Mike Collins official profile
- Mike Collins vs. Jon Ossoff: The key issues dividing Georgia’s Senate race
- Meet Mike Collins
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