U.S. Rep. Mike Collins entered a suddenly reshaped GOP race for U.S. Senate on Monday with a pledge to carry out President Donald Trump’s agenda and “take back control” of the seat from Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff.
The Jackson Republican launched his campaign after laying the groundwork for months — locking down endorsements from prominent conservatives, meeting with Trump advisers at the White House and teasing his campaign in an online video urging supporters to “stay tuned.”
“We need a senator who works for Georgia, not the California crazies or New York nut jobs,” Collins said in his opening video, replete with pro-Trump messaging. “I don’t know who Jon Ossoff really works for, but it sure as heck isn’t Georgia.”
His long-expected entrance came just days after Gov. Brian Kemp dramatically intervened in the race, privately telling Collins and two other contenders he would be endorsing his longtime friend, former football coach Derek Dooley.
The move scrambled the field. Insurance Commissioner John King dropped out within hours, while Collins and U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter doubled down on their bids.
Now the race appears headed for a three-way GOP brawl between a trio of unlikely rivals: Collins, a no-holds-barred MAGA loyalist; Carter, a longtime coastal Georgia lawmaker with deep pockets; and Dooley, a political newcomer expected to soon enter the contest.
Credit: AJC file photos
Credit: AJC file photos
The primary only began to take shape after Kemp passed on a bid himself and other potential heavyweights, including former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins and former U.S. Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, took jobs in the Trump administration instead.
Mike Collins earlier had framed himself as a reluctant warrior who would have stepped aside for Kemp or other senior Republicans. But he and his allies now see an opening for his brand of Trump-aligned, bare-knuckled politics.
The son of the late U.S. Rep. Mac Collins, he won his deep-red northeast Georgia seat in 2022 after defeating a Trump-backed rival in a bruising runoff. Since arriving in Washington, he’s carved out a reputation as both a political brawler and a legislative workhorse.
He was the first freshman lawmaker to sponsor a bill signed into law by Democratic President Joe Biden. And the first bill inked by Trump after returning to office in January was a Collins-backed immigration crackdown named for slain Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
He has well-established MAGA credentials, traveling the nation last year campaigning for contenders running on a pro-Trump “America First Congress” platform, and is a regular presence on the Georgia GOP circuit. His fiery memes and culture war broadsides have earned him a devoted base of Trump supporters — and many critics as well.
Still, his campaign will also pitch Collins to swing voters as a blue-collar founder of a trucking firm with a knack for working across party lines.
Collins’ entry will complicate Kemp’s monthslong effort to broker a deal with Trump on a consensus GOP pick. For now, insiders expect the president to wait and watch the race unfold before making a move.
Ossoff, meanwhile, is seen as both a vulnerable Democrat — the only incumbent senator up for reelection in a state Trump carried — and a formidable campaigner.
After flipping the seat in the 2021 runoffs that handed Democrats control of the Senate, he’s worked to appeal to middle-of-the-road Georgians while voting reliably for his party’s priorities. He’s banked more than $15.4 million and is already trying to frame the race as a referendum on Trump.
So is Collins. He accused Ossoff of betraying Georgia’s interests and pledged to deliver on Trump’s agenda.
“This is Georgia’s moment,” he said. “This is the people’s time to take back control of this Senate seat, deliver on President Trump’s America First agenda, and kick Jon Ossoff to the curb — and together, that’s exactly what we will do next November.”
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