Mike Collins

A second Republican congressman has joined the race to unseat U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff next year.

In a brief announcement on social media Monday, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Jackson, joined fellow GOP Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons, in the campaign to replace Democrat Ossoff with a Republican.

Currently, both of Georgia’s Senate seats are held by Democrats, the other by Sen. Raphael Warnock, who will be up for re-election in 2028.

Collins and Carter will face off first in the Republican primary next year. Both have aligned themselves with President Donald Trump and his MAGA base of Republican voters. Last week, another Trump-aligned candidate, Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King, suspended his candidacy, saying he saw “little path forward to the nomination.”

Collins, a trucking executive, announced his entry into the race with the words “I’m in” on X. In a second post, he described himself as a “conservative workhorse” and “America First fighter,” adding, “Chip in some cash and I’ll stay on the gas!”

Collins added a video of himself driving a semi-truck. In the video, he touts Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” and banning “boys from playing girls’ sports.” And he talks of writing the Laken Riley Act, which requires federal immigration agents to arrest, detain and deport immigrants who cross the border illegally and then commit nonviolent crimes.

Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, was murdered last year while jogging on the University of Georgia campus. Both Ossoff and Warnock supported the bill, which Trump signed in January.

But Collins in his video calls them “California crazies.”

Democrats fired back, calling Collins a “MAGA extremist” aligned with Trump’s “toxic agenda, deep Medicaid cuts, and economic chaos.”


How to Read and Understand the News

Truth doesn’t bend because we dislike it.
Facts don’t vanish when they make us uncomfortable.
Events happen whether we accept them or not.

Good reporting challenges us. The press isn’t choosing sides — it’s relaying what official, verified sources say. Blaming reporters for bad news is like blaming a thermometer for a fever.

Americans have a history of misunderstanding simple things. In the 1980s, A&W rolled out a 1/3-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s Quarter Pounder. It failed because too many people thought 1/3 was smaller than 1/4. If we can botch basic math, we can certainly misread the news.

Before dismissing a story, ask yourself:

  • What evidence backs this?
  • Am I reacting to facts or feelings?
  • What would change my mind?
  • Am I just shooting the messenger?

And one more: Am I assuming bias just because I don’t like the story?

Smart news consumers seek truth, not comfort.

Ty Tagami | Capitol Beat

Ty Tagami is a staff writer for Capitol Beat News Service. He is a journalist with over 20 years experience.