Collins, a Republican from Caribou, Aroostook County, served 5 terms in the Maine Legislature between 1970 and 1992.

[2] In 1970, Collins was elected to the Maine House of Representatives, and served a single term.

Running again in 1986, Collins was re-elected, serving three more terms in the Maine Senate, retiring in 1992 from elected office.

He served in the United States Army during World War II, receiving a Bronze Star for heroism, and a Purple Heart with an Oak Leaf Cluster, after being wounded twice in the Battle of the Bulge.

He worked in the family lumber business, established by his great-great grandfather, Samuel Collins, in 1844.