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After Hice announced that he would not seek reelection in the 2022 elections, Collins announced his candidacy.[1] During his campaign, Collins falsely claimed that Joe Biden had stolen the 2020 election.[4] In a campaign ad, Collins, carrying a gun, told the camera, "You count the legal votes that were cast in the state of Georgia? Donald Trump won this state, period." He then proceeds to shoot a voting machine which explodes.[4] This campaign ad would be cited in discussions of Collins' stance on gun control following the 2024 Apalachee High School shooting that occurred in his congressional district.[5]
Collins and Vernon Jones advanced to a runoff election,[6] and Collins defeated Jones in the runoff on June 21.[7] Collins defeated Tabitha Johnson-Green, the Democratic nominee, in the November 8 general election.[8]
After his election, Collins drew attention for hiring Brandon Phillips as his chief of staff. Phillips was arrested in November 2022 on a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty for kicking a dog, and had two previous criminal incidents, including pleading guilty to criminal trespassing and battery for a 2008 incident when he attacked a man and slashed his car's tires, and threw a woman's laptop.[9]
Collins's 10th District is located within Georgia's I-75 Central Corridor.[10]
In December 2023, Collins's H.R. 1734 Testing, Rapid Analysis, and Narcotic Quality (TRANQ) Act passed both the House and the Senate and was sent to the president of the United States to be signed into law. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Collins was "in line to become the first member of this year’s freshman class to see a bill signed into law."[15][16]
Foreign policy
Collins was among 47 Republicans to vote in favor of 2023's H.Con.Res. 21 which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.[17][18]
After a migrant in New York City was released from jail without bail in February 2024 after allegedly attacking a police officer; Collins suggested the migrant be executed. Collins stated on X that the migrant should be given "a ticket on Pinochet Air for a free helicopter ride back.” Collins's post referenced the Chilean government's killing of dissidents on death flights carried out during the rule of Augusto Pinochet.[24] The migrant Collins had suggested be executed was later cleared of wrongdoing after the Manhattan district attorney's office announced he had been misidentified.[25]
After the Killing of Laken Riley, who was a Georgia resident, Collins introduced the Laken Riley Act, which requires U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain undocumented immigrants charged with theft. The Laken Riley Act has passed the House of Representatives.[26][27]
Social media
Collins frequently posts memes on social media, jokingly declaring that "Press Releases are out, memes are in."[28] In March 2024, Collins replied "Never was a second thought" to an antisemitic post on X by user "Garbage Human", who was implicitly disparaging Washington Post journalist Maura Judkis for being Jewish. "Garbage Human" later confirmed they were alluding to Judkis' religion. Esther Panitch, the only Jewish member of the Georgia State Legislature, criticized Collins, saying "It’s one thing to mistakenly respond to an antisemitic account. It’s another thing to double down on it and gaslight us like it never happened.” Collins denied his post on X was antisemitic, stating he had called Judkis a "garbage human" because she had said the United States was "built on stolen land."[29][30][31][32]
In April 2024, amidst the ongoing pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses, Collins tweeted, "Not sure what y'all are doing up north, but we don't give them the time to encamp. Tazers set to stun!" Collins's post on X/Twitter was accompanied by a one-minute-17-second video clip depicting a series of scenes from the police crackdown on protesters at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, including a scene in which a Black man is seen lying on the ground in handcuffs while a Georgia State Patrol officer applies a taser to his leg and fires it. Other scenes in the video showed police struggling with protesters, protesters in handcuffs seated near an Atlanta Police prisoner transport van, and footage where the sound of police firing rubber bullets can be heard.[33][34] In May 2024, Collins approvingly shared footage of counter-protesters at the University of Mississippi heckling pro-Palestinian protesters. Collins praised the counter-protesters, posting “Ole Miss taking care of business." The footage showed a white student engaging in racist mockery of a pro-Palestinian black student by imitating a monkey. The video also showed the counter-protesters chanting "Lock her up!" at the pro-Palestinian student.[35][36][37]
In May 2024, following reports that presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. once said that a parasitic worm had been found in his brain, Collins posted on X, "You either die a Kennedy with a hole in the brain or live long enough to become a Kennedy with a hole in the brain", referring to the assassinations of Kennedy's father and uncle. His remark drew criticism.[38][39]
Collins and his wife, Leigh Ann, have three children.[45] Collins is a Methodist.[46] Collins's business 'Collins Trucking' is a sponsor of the Butts County, Georgia, Historical Society.[47]
