Mac Collins
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
Michael Allen (Mac) Collins
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| In office 1993–2005 |
|
| Preceded by | Richard Ray |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Lynn Westmoreland |
|
|
|
| Born | October 15, 1944 Jackson, Georgia |
| Political party | Republican |
| Religion | Methodist |
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). His campaigns have been primarily funded by the banking and insurance industries [1]. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress in 2006.
He was born in Jackson, and joined a concrete products business run by his father 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 losing two elections for Georgia State Senate, he was elected in 1988 from a district in Henry County south of Atlanta and served two terms there.
During the 1990s round of redistricting, Democrats in the Georgia state legislature, bent on getting rid of Newt Gingrich, dismantled his old 6th District. The new map shifted much of Gingrich's former territory south of Atlanta--including Collins' home--to the 3rd District, which at the time was based in Columbus and represented by five-term Democrat Richard Ray.
Collins immediately jumped into the race. He defeated Paul Broun (who would later be elected to Congress from the 10th District) in the Republican primary and then defeated Ray in the general election by almost 10 points. Collins was reelected with 65 percent of the vote in 1994 and four more times after that with virtually no difficulty, even running unopposed in 1998.[1]
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 moved back to Butts County and made an attempt to return to Congress against Democrat 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 lost again, by only 1,100 votes.[2]
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] References
- ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=918
- ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=206833
[edit] External links
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
