Rep. Mike Collins on Monday became the latest Georgia Republican to launch a bid to defeat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in what could be the most competitive Senate election of 2026.
Collins, who founded a trucking company and is currently serving his second term in the House, is running on a platform staunchly supportive of President Donald Trump.
“It’s time to send a trucker to the U.S. Senate to steamroll the radical left, deliver on President Trump’s America First agenda, and put the people of Georgia back in the driver’s seat,” Collins says in his launch video.
Collins, the son of the late Republican Rep. Mac Collins, represents Georgia’s 10th District, a deep-red swath of the eastern part of the state between Atlanta and Augusta. His district includes Athens, where University of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley was killed by a Venezuelan migrant whom federal officials said had entered the U.S. illegally.
Collins blamed the Biden administration for the killing and sponsored legislation named after Riley that requires the detention of unauthorized immigrants accused of theft and violent crimes.
“When Biden’s open border got Laken Riley tragically murdered by a criminal illegal alien in my district. I took matters into my own hands,’’ Collins says in the video. “I wrote the Laken Riley Act so we can deport criminal illegals wherever they are, making sure this never happens again.”
That won him praise from Trump, who told Collins that he’s a “fantastic” man who “loves his state and took [Riley’s murder] very personally.” The legislation was the first law signed by Trump after his return to the White House in January.
Collins was first elected to Congress in 2022, succeeding Republican Jody B. Hice, who left for an unsuccessful bid for Georgia secretary of state. Collins had previously sought the seat in 2014, losing to Hice in a primary runoff. Republicans will be favored to hold the 10th District next year, with Collins winning a second term by 26 points last fall and Trump carrying the seat by 21 points, according to calculations by The Downballot.
A prolific social media user, Collins calls himself a “conservative workhorse.” He has faced criticism for several of his posts on the platform X. His Senate campaign launch had been anticipated after he posted a video on social media earlier this month, saying that while he loved his current job, “I also understand that sometimes you don’t do what you want to do, but what you need to do.”
Collins joins a Republican Senate field that is still taking shape. On Thursday, state Insurance Commissioner John King suspended his Senate campaign, after concluding that there was “little path forward to the nomination.” He will instead seek reelection to his current post next year.
“I got into the U.S. Senate race to beat Jon Ossoff, not distract from the mission,” King said on social media. “I’ve spent my entire life in the arena as a lawman, soldier, and first Hispanic elected statewide in Georgia, and I’m not done yet.”
The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported that King exited the race after a private meeting with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who told him he would be backing former college football coach Derek Dooley to take on Ossoff.
In addition to Collins, Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter is already running for the GOP nomination. Dooley, who has never run for elective office, has yet to announce. He is the son of revered Georgia football coach Vince Dooley.
Kemp, who announced in May that he would not seek the Senate seat, also informed Carter and Collins of his plans to back Dooley, the Journal-Constitution reported.
But Carter’s campaign told the newspaper the congressman was staying in the race.
“Politicians don’t elect our Senators — the people of Georgia do,” his campaign said in a statement. “There’s only one candidate in this race who is a MAGA Warrior and only one who will take the fight to radical liberal Jon Ossoff and his socialist cronies in Washington.”
Democrats were quick Monday to slam the latest entrant into the GOP race, with a spokesperson for Senate Democrats’ campaign arm branding Collins an “extremist.”
“While Collins is entering an already messy and divisive primary where candidates’ race to the right will result in a deeply flawed nominee, Senator Ossoff is building a campaign that will allow him to hold this seat in 2026,’’ Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson Maeve Coyle said in a statement.
Ossoff is considered the most vulnerable incumbent Democratic senator up for reelection next year, representing a state that Trump won by 2 points last fall. Senate Democrats face a tough map in their quest to win the majority in 2016, with few takeover opportunities at this point in the cycle.
Still, Ossoff remains one of the chamber’s most prolific fundraisers: He raised more than $10 million in the second quarter that ended June 30, following an $11 million haul over the first three months of the year. He entered July with more than $15 million on hand.
Collins ended June with $1 million in his House campaign account, funds that can be transferred to a Senate committee. Carter reported raising about $1 million in contributions and loaned his campaign an additional $2 million.
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates the Senate race in Georgia a Toss-up.
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