Mike Collins Emerges as Top Georgia GOP Senate Candidate at 58
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 19
Mike Collins Emerges as Top Georgia GOP Senate Candidate at 58
10 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 19
Mike Collins, 58, entered Tuesday’s Georgia Republican Senate primary as one of three leading contenders, running as a Trump-aligned hard-liner on immigration.
Trump has not endorsed in the race, but Collins has highlighted unusually close ties: the first bill Trump signed after returning to office was Collins’s Laken Riley Act.
That measure targets undocumented immigrants charged with nonviolent crimes for deportation, and Collins has made it central to his campaign; Riley’s family and the border agents’ union have endorsed him.
Collins has also drawn attention for inflammatory rhetoric, including a 2025 post saying Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde should be “added to the deportation list.”
The profile lands as Georgia Republicans weigh electability against loyalty to Trump in a primary shaped by Gov. Brian Kemp’s effort to block Collins and unseat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.
With over half of voters undecided, what will sway their choice for Georgia's Senate nominee before Tuesday's primary?
Can a political newcomer backed by the governor overcome a fundraising and polling leader in the primary?