GEORGIA – After three years as Georgia's 10th Congressional District representative, Mike Collins is in the 2026 U.S. Senate race.
Collins, who represents parts of Newton County, officially announced his campaign for the seat on Monday, ending months of speculation. In a news release sent to The Covington News on Monday morning, Collins criticized Senate incumbent Jon Ossoff.
“Jon Ossoff does not represent Georgia’s values and has attacked our states’ [sic] best interests at every opportunity. He’s voted to raise taxes on Georgia families, supercharge inflation, open our Southern Border, and allow men to play in women’s sports,” Collins said. “This is Georgia’s moment. 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.”
Collins is now the second high-profile Republican to declare for the race. In May, 1st Congressional District Rep. Buddy Carter officially announced his bid for the seat. Both candidates are close allies of President Donald Trump, although it is unclear which candidate, if any, Trump will endorse.
Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King was formerly in the race, but he opted to suspend his campaign after a meeting with current Georgia Governor Brian Kemp—who has also confirmed he will not enter the Senate race as his gubernatorial term comes to an end. It is expected that King and Kemp will endorse former football coach Derek Dooley, who reportedly may also be looking at a run for the seat.
Collins will now have to defeat Carter, Dooley and any other Republican who would declare for the race in order to earn the party’s nomination and face Ossoff.
The Democratic Party of Georgia released a statement in response to Collins' campaign announcement.
“Mike Collins is a MAGA extremist who wants to raise the retirement age, voted against full Social Security benefits for first responders, propped up dangerous antisemetic rhetoric, and supports a federal abortion ban with no exceptions," the statement said. "This already messy primary will expose just how out of step Collins is with Georgia voters as Republicans duke it out to prove who is more in line with Trump’s toxic agenda, deep Medicaid cuts, and economic chaos.”
The Jackson native began his political career in 2022 after defeating Democratic challenger Tabitha Johnson-Green for the 10th Congressional District seat. He was reelected in 2024 after a decisive victory over Democrat Lexy Doherty.
While in office, Collins has introduced a number of bills to the House of Representatives. Notably, he authored the Laken Riley Act, a bill named after a Georgia student that was signed into law earlier this year. The law requires the Department of Homeland Security to detain illegal aliens who commit theft, burglary, larceny, shoplifting, assault against police officers and crimes that result in serious bodily harm or death and expedite them to their home countries.
However, with his announcement for the U.S. Senate seat, Collins will not be permitted to run for a third term in the House.
Two of Collins’ predecessors, Jody Hice and Paul Broun, ran for the Georgia Secretary of State and U.S. Senate seats, respectively, giving up their House seats in the process. Both were unsuccessful.
So far, Doherty is the only candidate to declare for the 2026 10th Congressional District election on either side of the aisle. She released the following statement.
“Mr. Collins seems to think he has a better shot of staying in D.C. by running against the Senator instead of me," Doherty said in part. "Apparently, he's looking at the same numbers we are and seeing the shift away from extremism toward kitchen table values. Collins is part of the old way in Washington.
“Georgians are tired of the old way. Hardworking families like mine need prices to go down and wages to come up. We need our government to work with us—not against us—to make a better life for us and our families. And all we've gotten this year from extremists like Collins is chaos and corruption while the ultra-rich take tighter control of Washington."
Dates for the Senate primaries have not yet been made available. The general election will take place on Nov. 3, 2026.
