Trump endorses Rep. Mike Collins, a diehard election denier, in Georgia GOP U.S. Senate runoff

By Brentin Mock

JACKSON, GEORGIA - MAY 19: Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Collins speaks to supporters at a primary night event on May 19, 2026 in Jackson, Georgia. Positions on the ballot in Georgia also include state governor, secretary of state and attorney general. (Photo by Jason Allen/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump endorsed Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.), a vehement election denier and Jan. 6 riot defender, in the Georgia Republican U.S. Senate runoff taking place on June 16. 

Like virtually every other politician that Trump has endorsed in this year’s primaries, Collins is a fervent believer in the false claim that the 2020 election was rigged, and that Joe Biden, the legitimate winner, cheated. Collins has also spoken out in defense of Jan. 6 insurrectionists, referring to them as “political prisoners.”

The Collins pick is just the latest example of how Trump is using 2020 election denialism to mold Congress  in ways such that the president can more easily pass anti-voter legislation that so far has been rejected by Congress’s upper chamber.

Collins is also one of the loudest examples on that front, as his social media history shows. His feverish election conspiracy mania is probably best summed up by a 2022 social media video he posted when he was running for Georgia’s 10th U.S. House congressional district. 

In the clip, Collins is holding a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle as he runs down a laundry list of voter fraud myths about Georgia that have since been extensively investigated and debunked: illegal votes were cast, voting machines were hacked, and “ridiculous” drop boxes were planted that Democrats “stuffed” with ballots to steal the election.

“You see, Georgians are sick and tired of weak-kneed, spineless politicians who won’t fight for Trump, get to the bottom of 2020 and fix our elections,” says Collins in the video as he lifts his rifle. “Well, if they won’t do it, Mike Collins will.” 

He then fires his rifle at what appears to be a ballot drop box, blowing it to pieces.

“Send me to Washington,” he concludes. “I’ll fix this election. I’ll get to the bottom of 2020 and I will fight for Trump’s America First agenda.”

His X history shows that he’s campaigned heavily on these falsehoods dating back to at least 2021, when he demanded in several posts for an audit of Georgia’s 2020 ballots.  

That was also the year that Collins became one of the most vocal defenders of Jan. 6 rioters. During a “Justice for J6” rally in DC, in Sept. 2021, Collins told a crowd: “I demand that the federal government begin trying those accused – the J6 political prisoners being detained immediately, especially those being held for nonviolent crimes.”

Years later, he paid a fond tribute to the rioters, calling them  “peaceful grandmothers.”

“President Trump held a rally, where supporters walked to the Capitol to peacefully protest the certification of the 2020 election,” wrote Collins in the tribute. “During this time, some individuals entered the Capitol, took photos, and explored the building before leaving. Since then, hundreds of peaceful protestors have been hunted down, arrested, held in solitary confinement, and treated unjustly. Countless hours and taxpayer dollars have been spent pursuing innocent grandmothers and raiding President Trump’s home, while terrorists and millions of illegal immigrants continue to cross our nation’s borders, causing havoc in our communities.”

Collins is running against Derek Dooley, a college football coach who has not held public office before. However, Dooley has the endorsement of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who famously thwarted Trump’s plans to “find” votes to overturn the state’s 2020 election results. 

In February, it was revealed that Dooley once said at a meet-and-greet that Trump lost the 2020 Georgia vote, which is accurate. And, it likely cost him Trump’s endorsement.

“I don’t know Derek Dooley, and neither does anyone else, but he seems like a nice person,” wrote Trump in his Collins endorsement post. “Unfortunately, he has lived outside of Georgia for most of his life, didn’t vote in 2020 or 2016, and said that I lost Georgia in 2020 when, in actuality, the facts have now proven that I won by a lot!”

In that same post, Trump disparaged Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), who the winner of Tuesday’s Republican runoff will face in November for the U.S. Senate seat. 

“[Ossoff] voted AGAINST Voter I. D., and also, fought strongly against Proof of Citizenship, but is in favor of allowing Illegal Aliens to vote in our Sacred Elections,” wrote Trump.