Mike Collins enters 10th Congressional District race
News, Politics June 8, 2021
JACKSON, Ga – Businessman Mike Collins officially launched his campaign for Georgia’s 10th Congressional District on Tuesday, June 8.
Collins previously ran for the seat in 2014 but lost to incumbent Congressman Jody Hice (R), who decided to run for Secretary of State in the 2022 election. Hice’s received former President Donald Trump’s endorsement in the race.
Born and raised in Jackson, Collins started his first business at 25 and went on to start Collins Trucking business. With 115 semi-trucks, Collins Trucking hauls “millions of metric tons of freight throughout the nation each year and employs more than 100 hard-working Georgians.”
Collins appears to be running on an America First, pro-Trump agenda. It’s literally listed at the top of his priorities. He’s also positioning himself as a political outsider who cares about creating jobs and standing by conservative values.
His father is former Representative Mac Collins who represented Georgia’s 8th district.
Trump handily won the 10th district in 2020 with 60 percent of the vote to President Joe Biden’s 39 percent. So standing by the 45th President might be the way to go for Collins.
Hice calls Secretary of State Raffensperger’s performance “dismal”
News, Politics March 25, 2021
ELLIJAY, Ga – Tenth District Representative Jody Hice (R) addressed why he’s running for Secretary of State against incumbent Brad Raffensperger (R).
On Monday, Hice officially announced his candidacy and has been making his case ever since. He even earned former President Donald Trump’s endorsement shortly after his announcement.
Hice cited his work as the ranking member on House Oversight and Government Operations committees and trying to fight House Resolution One. The bill recently passed the House and moved to the Senate. The piece of legislation backed by Democrats addresses the voting process and voting rights. If passed, it would become the biggest overhaul in U.S. election law in a long time.
Congressman Hice claimed that the Democrats used the pandemic to change the way the country votes and mentioned how he urged Raffensperger to not mass mail ballot applications in Georgia. He blamed Raffensperger’s actions for leading to a” horrendous decaying of election integrity in Georgia.”
Hice added that the erosion of voter confidence led to the election of two Democrat Senators in Georgia. He stated that Georgia and the nation are “suffering because of the dismal performance by the Secretary of State.”
Raffensperger continues to stand by the 2020 election results and that the Secretary of State’s Office ran fair and honest elections. He leveled blame at Hice for spreading the election conspiracy and furthering voter mistrust.
Hice still believes that a thorough investigation would reverse the 2020 Presidential Election outcome and advocated for an unbiased audit of the Dominion voting machines.
Both Hice and David Belle Isle, Republican Secretary of State candidate, agreed that Dominion voting machines need to be investigated and Georgia should look into using different machines.
When asked if Trump is just using Hice to settle his score with Raffensperger, Hice called those stories false much like the story about Trump asking Raffensperger to overturn the election. The Congressman added that those stories are the Secretary of State Raffensperger’s narrative. Trump did ask Raffensperger to find 11,870 votes and he urged an investigator to scrutinize ballots in Fulton County.
Hice begins raking in endorsements for SOS
Featured Stories, News March 22, 2021
ATLANTA – Shortly after announcing his intent to run for Secretary of State, Tenth District Congressman Jody Hice (R – Athens) began garnering endorsements.
Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz and former President Donald Trump have issued statements of support.
Trump called Hice “one of our most outstanding Congressmen” and “a steadfast fighter for Georgia conservative values.” The former and highly controversial President also took a minute to throw shade at the current Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger who became an enemy of Trump’s during the November election.
Hice sided with Trump’s narrative about the election and was quick to criticize Raffensperger for his actions. The Secretary of State’s Office conducted three recounts for the Presidential race and each one confirmed the results. The lawsuits concerning illegalities in Georgia’s elections were thrown out as well.
The importance of a Trump endorsement remains to be seen within the Republican Party. Many registered Republicans either support or detest the individual while others believe his involvement in the January 6 runoffs cost the GOP the Senate and flipped the state.
David Belle Isle announced his candidacy for Secretary of State on Sunday. He came in second to Raffensperger in the 2018 primary runoff.
Raffensperger intends to run for reelection in 2022 despite the GOP adopting a resolution that he “undermined public confidence” on Friday.
With Hice running for Secretary of State, it leaves Georgia’s Tenth Congressional District up for grabs with several names already being floated around, such as State Rep. Houston Gaines, State Senator Bill Cowsert, State Rep. Jodi Lott, Mike Collins, and even former Tenth District Rep. Paul Broun.
Trump’s promised to throw his weight around in several Georgia races including the governor and U.S. Senate. Governor Brian Kemp didn’t side with the former President concerning the November election either. At this time, no Trump-backed candidate has entered those races.
Hice and Belle Isle enter the Georgia Secretary of State Race
Featured Stories, News March 22, 2021
ATLANTA – Fellow Republican and incumbent Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger will face primary competitors after 10th District Representative Jody Hice (R – Athens) and former Alpharetta Mayor David Belle Isle announced their candidacies.
Rumblings of Hice’s run began last week, and FYN previously informed the public to expect a statement from the Congressman.
Current Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger
In his press release, Hice called out Raffensperger for his “inaction” and creating “cracks in the integrity of our elections.”
“Free and fair elections are the foundation of our country. What Brad Raffensperger did was create cracks in the integrity of our elections, which I wholeheartedly believe individuals took advantage of in 2020. Though I am encouraged to see the General Assembly taking it upon themselves to address some of the glaring issues in our elections, Georgia deserves a Secretary of State who will own the responsibilities of the office. If elected, I will instill confidence in our election process by upholding the Georgia Constitution, enforcing meaningful reform and aggressively pursuing those who commit voter fraud.
Every Georgian, in fact every American, has the right to be outraged by the actions and, simultaneously, the inaction of our Secretary of State. Our state deserves a leader who steers clear of scandals and focuses on the incredibly important duties of the office. If elected, my top priority will be ensuring every Georgian’s legally cast ballot is counted in future elections. I am excited about our campaign and I know together we can renew integrity!” Hice said in a press release.
David Belle Isle
As for Belle Isle, he previously came in second in the Secretary of State primary. The former Alpharetta Mayor and attorney hopes to “fix the mess at the ballot box and restore voter confidence in Georgia.” He announced his campaign over the weekend.
See Belle Isle statement below:
“I am running for Secretary of State to clean up the mess, secure the mail-in ballot, and restore voter confidence,” said Belle Isle. “In the recent elections, we witnessed voter suppression on a massive scale, triggered by voter uncertainty and made worse by the Secretary’s poor decisions, carelessness, and failure to lead. In the Senate runoff, thousands of Georgia voters chose to stay home rather than condone a process that appeared uninterested in the difference between valid votes and invalid votes. Raffensperger single-handedly bargained away our election integrity and skewered the credibility of our mail-in ballots,” Belle Isle continued. “Then, he looked us in the eye and told us that the 2020 election was the safest, most secure election in our history. It was not, and it’s time to hold the Secretary of State accountable.”
David points to the Compromise Settlement Agreement signed by Raffensperger and Stacy Abrams as the biggest obstacle to voter confidence and election integrity in Georgia. “The Compromise makes it very difficult for counties to reject invalid mail-in ballots, which likely resulted in thousands of invalid ballots being fully counted,” stated David. “The integrity of our State depends on the integrity of our elections. As Georgia’s next Secretary of State, I will reject the Compromise Settlement Agreement and work to better secure the mail-in ballot process. I will work to clean up the voter rolls and call for a true independent audit of Dominion. Most importantly, I will put fresh eyes on our entire election system, from top to bottom, with the goal of delivering to the people of Georgia fair and provable elections.”
Georgia has been the focus of national attention during the election process, and David believes there is a unique opportunity to demonstrate how common-sense conservatism can solve a state’s problems. “However,” he points out, “It won’t be easy. Conservatives are under attack. We are being banned, censored, and cancelled. Georgians know that our shared conservative values are at the heart of our State’s success. The way we lead and the policies we have championed have attracted new businesses and lured new citizens to our State. Yet, there is national pressure on our citizens to vote against the very principles that got us here.”
As we face our next election cycle, David knows that Republicans are seeking to support the right leaders who will help Georgians flourish. “Before those leaders can be successful however,” David emphasized, “we must fix the mess at the ballot box and restore voter confidence in Georgia.”
The Belle Isle campaign kick-off event is today, March 22 at 5:30 p.m. in Alpharetta City Park.