After serving in the Alabama House of Representatives for 16 years, State Rep. Terri Collins (R-Decatur) announced in January she would not be seeking re-election in 2026. Now, just a little over a month later, the long-time North Alabama legislator has endorsed a possible conservative successor to the office.
On Monday, Collins officially threw her support behind local business leader and former chairman of the Decatur-Morgan Chamber of Commerce board of directors, Patrick Johnson.
"Patrick Johnson has the deep Morgan County roots, the commonsense conservative philosophy, and the firsthand business experience necessary to represent our fast-growing area in Montgomery," Collins said. "Serving our community for the past 16 years has been an honor, and I know Patrick is the right choice to continue fighting for Morgan County in the committee rooms and chambers of the Alabama State House."
Johnson praised Collins' established advocacy for House District 8 and expressed gratitude for the endorsement.
"Throughout her service in Montgomery, Terri Collins has made a lasting positive impact in the lives of every public school student, every Alabama family, and every resident of our state, and we are all better off thanks to the work she has done," Johnson said. "I am proud and humbled that she trusts me to pick up her baton and continue the effort to bring meaningful conservative change to Alabama and make an already great state even better."
Collins said Johnson has been "a prominent fixture in the Decatur business community for more than 17 years." She noted that the same philosophy he used to build and operate his local insurance company — "Listen First, Serve Always" — will guide him as Morgan County's state representative in Montgomery.
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