Mike Collins is running for the Senate. Who will replace him in the House?

Published On: July 30, 2025

Mike Collins won the GOP primary for a U.S. House seat in northeast Georgia just three years ago after defeating seven Republican opponents. A race to succeed him is now underway as a result of his choice to run for the U.S. Senate.

From the eastern suburbs of Atlanta to South Carolina, the open seat crosses heavily Republican territory. That means the GOP primary is where the actual fight will take place.

State Representative Houston Gaines of Athens, a rising Republican and ally of Governor Brian Kemp, is the most well-known GOP contender anticipated to run thus far. He now has about $900,000 in his bank account. He has already been quietly accumulating district-wide endorsements.

Other well-known names, however, might enter. Paul Broun, a former U.S. Representative who failed a 2014 Senate bid and placed fourth in Collins’ 2022 primary, said he is talking to his friends and wife before making a choice.

State Senator Brian Strickland is one name you won’t see in the mix. He is rushing to be successful. Chris Carrand, the attorney general, stated that he is not changing his race.

Jantz Womack, a Strickland aide, stated that Republicans need him as AG far more than they need him for a congressional district that is reliably Republican. He has a strong desire to protect our communities as top law enforcement officer.

Democrat Lexy Doherty, an educational consultant who lost to Collins last year and is running for the seat again in 2026, expressed her satisfaction with the way the contest has evolved.

“To improve our lives and the lives of our families, we need our government to work with us, not against us,” she said. As the ultra-rich tighten their grip on Washington, all we’ve received this year from radicals like Collins is turmoil and corruption.

Things to know

Miguel Martinez/AJC is credited.

Good morning! The Georgia municipal election candidates’ filing deadline is in just 24 days.

Three more things to be aware of today are as follows:

A state legislative committee studying Georgia s medical marijuana and hemp policies has its

first meeting at 1 p.m. today

at the Capitol.
President Donald Trump s tariffs have caused a lot of turmoil in the business world. But some Georgia companies stand to benefit from the policy, the

AJC s Mirtha Donastorg reports

.
The state judge who dismissed one of the 2020 election fraud cases filed by attorneys associated with Trump has joined JAMS

as a mediator, the

AJC s Rosie Manins reports

.

Website attack

Photo credit: Courtesy

The race to replace former Republican state senator Brandon Beach in Senate District 21 is intensifying.

A website that is throwing the political kitchen sink at Republican candidate Jason Dickerson has surfaced with less than a month to go before the special election on August 26.

It charges him with evading taxes, embezzling funds from a government loan during the COVID-19 pandemic, and even threatening to shoot his neighbor’s dog.

Dickerson said he could deny everything on the page, but there was no point in doing so since they would rewrite everything to suit their own agenda.

However, he spoke extensively about his belief that Steve West, a former Cherokee County commissioner and fellow Republican contender, is responsible for the attack.

The American Made Independent Committee, Inc. is listed as the website’s sponsor. According to financial disclosure papers, a small group of Georgia developers provide the majority of the committee’s funding.

Politics works like this, Dickerson remarked. (West) persuaded his developer friends to begin writing critical articles about us.

West told us that it was the first time he had seen the website and that he had no idea who was responsible or what was on it.

“I think people have enjoyed the positive campaign I’ve been running,” he remarked.

Collins first day

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U.S. Representative Mike Collins reported that within 12 hours of declaring his candidacy, his U.S. Senate campaign had raised $220,000.

We won’t be able to confirm that figure until mid-October, when Collins, a Jackson Republican, submits his first campaign financial report. Collins, however, believes that the kind of haul will frighten his GOP primary rivals, who include fellow U.S. Representative Buddy Carter and, in the days ahead, former college football coach Derek Dooley.

The past twelve hours have flown by, Collins wrote on X. There is no other way I would have it.

According to Carter’s campaign, he has lent himself an additional $2 million and raised roughly $1.1 million in the last three months.

In response to the announcement that another Republican was joining the campaign in an attempt to oust Democratic incumbent U.S. Senator Jon Ossoffre, he said, “All challengers are welcome.”

Gambling arguments

In order to prepare for possibly putting the subject before voters in the 2026 midterm elections, a group of influential politicians this week convened a research committee in Watkinsville to begin their most recent attempt to expand legal gambling in Georgia.

The majority of the chamber’s influential voices support presenting a constitutional amendment to the electorate at the House Study Committee on Gaming’s first meeting. This includes prominent chairs of various committees, such as Chuck Martin, R-Alpharetta; Alan Powell, R-Hartwell; and Matt Hatchett, R-Dublin.

But the pressure points stayed the same: money and God.

Georgia Baptist Convention lobbyist Mike Griffin used a passage from the Book of Romans to support his belief that legalized gambling would permit evil to occur in the guise of good, primarily more state financing for programs like education for children.

If you believed that legalizing fentanyl would benefit education, I know none of you would support it, he remarked. Just because we will make money doesn’t mean that it will benefit our society as a whole.

In the meantime, EchoPark Speedway president Ed Clark informed lawmakers of their long-standing ambitions to construct a resort near the track that would be centered by a casino.

He claimed that up to 3,000 employment would be created by the project, proving that new company always leads to new jobs.

Trailblazer

Arvin Temkar/AJC is credited.

Earlier this year, Georgia’s House of Representatives passed Governor Brian Kemps’ proposal to reform the state’s court system by a single vote. However, regardless of how close the score is, a victory is a victory, as a significant business lobbying group pointed out this morning.

As part of its evaluation of state legislatures’ readiness to restrict big jury awards in specific categories of civil cases, the American Tort Reform Association today added Georgia to its list of Tort Reform Trailblazers.

Georgia is now on the list, joining West Virginia, Alabama, and Indiana.

The association’s president, Tiger Joyce, stated that Georgia’s robust reforms serve as a model for the country.

Georgia s new law wassold on containing insurance premiumsby limiting when businesses can be sued for injuries that occurred on their property and allowing plaintiffs to present jurors with actual medial costs instead of initial bills, which can sometimes include inflated charges.

However, it is yet unknown how this may affect insurance rates. More legislation may be introduced next year, according to House Speaker Jon Burns, who established a parliamentary panel to examine the process used to determine insurance prices.

Mailed in

Credit: AJC/Adam Beam

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is moving ahead with the latest phase of Georgia s voter roll audit,announcing this morningthat his office completed a mailing to more than 218,000 voters.

Registrants who were classified as active but had not cast a ballot or updated their details in at least five years received the postcards.

Voters who don t respond will be shifted to inactive status and if they remain inactive through the 2026 and 2028 elections, they ll be eligible for removal ahead of 2029. Raffensperger called the outreach a routine part of list maintenance required by state and federal law.

Listen up

Credit: Courtesy photo, AJC

Today on thePolitically Georgiapodcast hosts Greg Bluestein and Tia Mitchell break downGov. Brian Kemps decision toback Derek Dooleyin the U.S. Senate race. Then Greg talks with AJC higher education reporter Jason Armesto about changes Georgia colleges face under President Donald Trump s new tax and spending law.

You can listen and subscribe to the show for free atApple Podcasts,Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.

Have a question or comment for the show? Email us [email protected] give us a call at 770-810-5297 and you could be featured on a future episode.

Today in Washington

Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Happenings:

President Donald Trump will participate in the

grand opening of Trump International Golf Links

near Aberdeen, Scotland.
The House is out until Sept. 2.
The Senate votes on more Trump nominations.

Shoutouts

Credit: Courtesy photo

Today s birthday:

State Rep. Lisa Campbell, D-Kennesaw.
Fulton County Commission Vice Chair Bob Ellis.

Want a birthday shoutout in the Politically Georgia newsletter? There s a form for that.Click hereto submit the shoutouts. It s not just birthdays. We re also interested in new jobs, engagements, birth announcements, etc.

Before you go

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

State Rep.Alan Powellattended a legislative hearing on Monday, but his mind might have been elsewhere. I live on Lake Hartwell, and this might be the first time I ve put on a pair of long pants in about three months, he said.

That ll do it for us today. As always, you can send your best scoops, gossip and insider info [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]@ajc.com.