Michael G. Collins

Mike Collins is a Republican candidate for the Idaho House of Representatives from Lewiston, the former two-term mayor of Lewiston, and the longtime head cross-country and track-and-field coach at Lewis-Clark State College. He is running in the May 19, 2026 Republican primary for House District 7 Seat A. The district covers Nez Perce County (including Lewiston), all of Idaho County, and Adams County. The winner faces Democrat Larry Nostrant in November, as documented on his Ballotpedia profile.

Background

Collins, 57, was born and raised in Parma, Idaho, in a rural farming community and was the first in his family to attend college. He earned a B.S. from Boise State University in 1993, an M.S. in Exercise Physiology in Salt Lake City in 1996, and a Ph.D. in Education with emphasis in Sport Science from the University of Idaho in 1999, as documented on his campaign biography. He has served as head cross-country and track-and-field coach at Lewis-Clark State College for nearly 30 years, coaching both men's and women's teams. He owns Aces Auctions, a consignment and estate-sale business, and holds a Federal Firearms License. He and his wife Tracy, a Lewiston native, have two adult daughters. He has completed three Ironman events and qualified for the U.S. National triathlon championships six times. His grandfathers were WWII Army and Navy veterans.

Political Career

Collins served eight years on the Lewiston City Council, including two years as Mayor Pro Tem, before serving four years as Mayor of Lewiston during the COVID-19 pandemic period, as reported by the Lewiston Tribune. He did not seek re-election in order to focus on coaching and his daughter's college athletics. His local-government service has also included the LC Valley Health Foundation board (overseeing grants exceeding $1 million per year for regional health), LCECP / Head Start, Zion's Bank Community Board of Advisors, the 2nd District Magistrate Commission, Emergency Services, Metropolitan Planning, and the Pivot Communications fiber-optic community advisory board. He signed the U.S. Term Limits pledge in April 2026.

Policy Positions

Collins's stated priorities are housing affordability, fiscal responsibility, public and rural-school funding, public safety, public-lands protection, border security balanced with Idaho agriculture's seasonal-labor needs, and pragmatic local decision-making. On housing, he frames property-tax reform and reduced construction regulation as the path back to the American dream: "Our kids do not view the future with the same American dream you and I and our parents had... We are taking the dream away from our seniors because of property taxes." On education, he supports high-quality public and private options but has been cautious on the 2025 private-school tax credit's impact on rural public schools: "If this is hurting our public institutions right now, it needs to be changed." On public lands, he opposes selling them to non-Idahoans: "As soon as we start selling off what belongs to Idahoans to non Idahoans we are going to lose and never get it back." He frames his approach as evidence-driven: "I am looking for practical, real world answers. Trying to avoid getting stuck in rigid ideology," as documented on his campaign site.

Political Alignment

Collins presents as a pragmatic, locally rooted Republican drawing on three decades of education and coaching across rural Idaho and on local-executive experience as Lewiston mayor and city council member. He is a Second Amendment defender, NRA member, and FFL holder; he describes his platform as "traditional conservative values" combined with collaboration, expert input, and evidence-based decision-making.

Campaign and Endorsements

Collins is endorsed by the Lewiston Firefighters Local 1773 PAC (April 2026), which cited his "proven record of supporting first responders," as reported by Big Country News, and by a Public Lands PAC, as reported by the Lewiston Tribune / Daily News. The general election is November 3, 2026.