Mac Collins was born on October 15, 1944 in Jackson, Georgia. He attended Jackson High School, and afterwards he worked for his father’s concrete company rather than attend college. Around this time, he also married his high school girlfriend, Julie Watkins. They had four children. Later, Collins incorporated Collins Ready Mix Concrete, Inc., into Collins Trucking Co., Inc., and the business became focused on hauling timber. At its peak, Collins Trucking Co., Inc. operated over thirty trucks that hauled timber for Georgia Pacific as part of an exclusive contract. In 1992, his son Michael (Mike) Collins purchased the company from him. Collins was also a member of the Georgia Army National Guard from 1964 to 1970.

Collins began his political career in 1977 as a Democrat, and he won election to the Butts County Commission. He served on the commission until 1980, when he switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. He lost election to the Georgia State Senate in the 1984 and 1986 elections. He was successful in winning election in the Georgia State Senate’s seventeenth district in 1988. His district contained the counties of Butts, Clayton, and Henry. At the start of the 140th Georgia General Assembly, he was only one of eleven Republicans in the Georgia State Senate, compared to forty-five Democrats.

While in the State Senate, Collins served on the Special Judiciary committee. He pursued stricter drug laws, sponsoring bills that would result in longer prison sentences for those convicted of drug selling and trafficking. He also served on the Corrections committee, arguing for more funding for the prison system. He opposed early parole as a program that allowed dangerous criminals to be released back into society. He also served on the Education committee.

In 1992, the Georgia General Assembly redistricted the Sixth Congressional District, the district formerly represented by Republican Newt Gingrich. This act moved much Gingrich’s former territory into the area where Collins lived. Collins declared himself a candidate for the United States House of Representatives, and he defeated Paul Broun in the Republican primary. He defeated incumbent congressman Richard Ray in the general election by over ten points. Collins served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 2004, and held a seat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee.

In 2004, he ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary against Johnny Isakson for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate.

Mac Collins died on November 20, 2018, near Jackson, Georgia.