Mac Collins
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Michael Allen (Mac) Collins | |
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| In office 1993–2005 |
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| Preceded by | Richard Ray |
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| Succeeded by | Lynn Westmoreland |
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| Born | October 15, 1944 Jackson, Georgia |
| Political party | Republican |
Michael Allen "Mac" Collins (born October 15, 1944), American politician, was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 2005, representing the Georgia's 8th congressional district (previously Georgia's 3rd congressional district from 1993 to 2003). He was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress in 2006.
He was born in Jackson, and began a concrete products business after graduating from high school, expanding it into a ready-mix concrete company two years later, when he joined the Georgia National Guard. He later began a trucking company that is now run by his sons.
He began his political career in 1977, when he was elected to the Butts County Commission. He was immediately elected chairman by his colleagues and served two terms, giving up his seat in 1980 when he switched his party affiliation from Democratic to Republican. After two unsuccessful runs for the Georgia State Senate, he was elected in 1988 and served two terms there.
Collins entered the House as a result of the 1990s round of redistricting. Democrats in the Georgia state legislature, bent on getting rid of Newt Gingrich, dismantled his old 6th District. They merged much of Gingrich's old territory with the 3rd District, which had been based in Columbus and was represented by five-term incumbent Richard Ray. However, the plan backfired. First, Gingrich moved to the newly drawn 6th, none of which he had previously represented, and easily won election there. Second, Collins defeated Ray in an upset. Collins was reelected five more times without another serious challenge, and even ran unopposed in 1998.
In 2004, Collins was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for the Georgia Senate seat left vacant by the retirement of Democratic Senator Zell Miller, which went to Johnny Isakson. In order to participate in this race, Collins declined to run for re-election to the House. Collins' seat was filled by state House minority leader Lynn Westmoreland.
In 2006, Collins made an attempt to come back to the House by challenging Jim Marshall. Marshall's redrawn district includes none of the territory Collins represented in his first five terms, but three counties that he represented in his last term. It made for one of the most competitive House races in the nation. Collins was defeated, receiving 49.5% of the vote.
Collins is featured in Congress at the Grassroots, a non-fiction account of representational change in the south authored by political science Professor Richard F. Fenno of the University of Rochester.
[edit] External links
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
| Preceded by Richard Ray |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 3rd congressional district January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2003 |
Succeeded by Jim Marshall |
| Preceded by Saxby Chambliss |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 8th congressional district January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2005 |
Succeeded by Lynn Westmoreland |
