‘Fine with me’: GOP Senate candidate Mike Collins backs federal troops at polls

By Brentin Mock

DALLAS, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 09: Georgia Republican Senate candidate, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) speaks on stage on the first day of the 2026 Republican National Convention at the American Airlines Center on September 09, 2026 in Dallas, Texas. U.S. President Donald Trump will headline the Republican National Committee's first-ever midterm convention as he aims to highlight his administration’s achievements and rally support for GOP candidates just two months before the upcoming elections being held on November 3. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

After months of the Trump administration floating the possibility of sending federal troops to voting sites, Rep. Mike Collins (R), the GOP candidate for Georgia’s U.S. Senate seat, said he was “fine” with that idea. 

“The last thing we want is for people to not have confidence in the elections and not show up, so if that’s something that they decide they need to look at, then that’s fine with me,” Collins said Sunday, answering a journalist’s question about such a deployment. 

Collins, who received President Donald Trump’s endorsement to challenge incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff (D) in this year’s midterms, made the comments during a campaign event with Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.)

In fact, deploying armed federal agents to polling places isn’t “fine” — it’s illegal under federal law and a form of voter intimidation.

Earlier this month, civil rights organizations and Democrats sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in a bid to further block the administration from sending federal agents to voting sites during the midterms. Lawmakers and states are also taking steps to prevent such election interference by the administration.

Multiple Trump administration leaders — including Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Attorney General Todd Blanche – have repeatedly suggested that federal law enforcement, such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, is not off the table.

Facing a probable drubbing in the midterms, Republican candidates have also advocated for sending federal agents to the polls. Collins himself trails Ossoff in his race.

In August, Maine’s Republican gubernatorial candidate Bobby Charles, who is also trailing his Democratic opponent, said he planned to ask Trump to send ICE and U.S. Marshals to the state’s polls in November. 

Earlier this year, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to comply with a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) seeking documents on any plans to send immigration agents or military personnel to the polls. 

Meanwhile, local prosecutors have formed a new coalition called Fight Against Federal Oversight (FAFO) – a reference to the phrase “F– Around and Find Out” – to protect voters from any illegal federal interference in this year’s midterms.