Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., who was the lead sponsor of the Laken Riley Act, is considering a Senate run against Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., next year.
“So many of you have asked me to take a look at this, and we are, because I respect the feedback and, frankly, your encouragement,” Collins said in a video posted on the social media platform X on Tuesday afternoon.
“And I agree with you: [Georgia Sen.] Jon Ossoff, man, he must go. I mean, he certainly doesn’t represent the vast majority of Georgians,” Collins noted in the video.
“He certainly doesn’t represent the Georgian values that I cherish so much,” the Georgia congressman added.
Collins is perhaps best known for sponsoring the Laken Riley Act. It is named for Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, who was murdered by an illegal alien on Feb. 22, 2024. The legislation requires the detention of illegal aliens who have been charged with theft, assaulting a police officer, or other crimes leading to death or serious bodily injury.
Collins has represented Georgia’s 10th Congressional District since 2023. Several other Republicans have already announced their candidacy for the party’s Senate nomination, but Collins would be one of the most high-profile candidates if he gets into the race.
The Republican nominee would square off against Ossoff, who has served in the upper chamber since 2021.
“Mike was able to get two bills signed into law under two presidents, under two parties, in two years,” a source familiar with the race told The Daily Signal in May.
“He’s a workhorse. You can’t stop him, and the state of Georgia has recognized that, too,” the source added.
Ossoff was among 12 Senate Democrats who voted for the Laken Riley Act. It passed the Senate on a bipartisan 64-35 vote on Jan. 20.
Collins has also garnered bipartisan support for another legislative priority. In 2023, then-President Joe Biden signed Collins’ TRANQ Act into law, which instructed the National Institute of Standards and Technology to research xylazine, a nonopioid tranquilizer drug, being distributed on the black market.
Polling from May found the Georgia congressman within striking distance of Ossoff in a hypothetical general election, trailing the freshman Democrat by fewer than 3 percentage points (45.7% to 43.3%). Collins was also found to have the most support among four potential Republican candidates in polling by the Trafalgar Group in April.
Collins graduated from Georgia State University in 1990 with a degree in business before starting a trucking company that has employed more than 100. He also served as chairman of one of the state’s largest credit unions and was president of his local chamber of commerce.
Collins hails from a family dedicated to public service. His father, Mac Collins, was also a Republican legislator who served in the Georgia state Senate from 1989 to 1993 and in Congress from 1993 to 2005.
