Thune campaigns with Collins in Georgia Senate race
Thune backs Collins in Georgia Senate campaign race
Senate Majority Leader John Thune joined Representative Mike Collins on the campaign trail in Atlanta as Republicans seek to flip the Senate seat.
ATLANTA - Senate Majority Leader John Thune traveled to Atlanta on Friday to campaign with Republican Senate nominee Mike Collins in his bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.
RELATED: Mike Collins targets Ossoff in FOX News appearance
Thune and Collins appeared together in northwest Atlanta, where they promoted the federal "no tax on tips" policy. The Republicans said the measure allows servers and other tipped employees to keep more of their earnings.
Thune emphasizes national importance
What they're saying:
"I'm here to support Mike Collins for the United States Senate, and we need him in the Senate," Thune said. "We need to keep the Senate majority so we can continue doing the things that will improve the livelihoods of the American people."
Thune praised Collins' background as a business owner, arguing that his private-sector experience uniquely positions him to address economic concerns in the state.
RELATED: Kemp backs Collins for Senate; Bottoms talks data centers
State party leaders are looking to capitalize on the high-profile visit to build momentum ahead of November's election. Georgia GOP Chair Josh McKoon noted the significance of having national leadership on the ground.
"It doesn't get any better than having the Senate majority leader in your state, in this city, letting people know he's 100% in support of Mike Collins," McKoon said.
RELATED: New 2026 Georgia Poll: Ossoff leads Senate race; Governor race in dead heat
Thune campaigns with Collins in Georgia Senate race
Senate Majority Leader John Thune traveled to Atlanta on Friday to campaign with Republican Senate nominee Mike Collins in his bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. FOX 5 Atlanta's Deidra Dukes reporting.
"I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think that we can win the state of Georgia," Thune said. "This is a margin-of-error race. It’s going to come down to who gets out to vote on Election Day."
Georgia Republican Party Chairman Josh McKoon also expressed confidence that the party could flip the seat.
Addressing reporters, Thune brushed aside the recent controversy surrounding his ties to a former aid and white nationalism.
"There are in any campaign, there are a lot of allegations and a lot of them turn out to be unfounded," Thune said. "And I certainly believe in the case of Senator Ossoff, that to me sounds like a bit of a desperate attack. I think it's an attempt to try and detract from his record."
The other side:
However, Republicans face an uphill climb in the closing months of the campaign. A new Insider Advantage poll released Friday afternoon shows Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff maintaining a lead in the race, pulling in 50% of the vote to Collins's 42%, with 8% of voters remaining undecided.
RELATED: Ossoff calls for release of Collin's aide's communications
The Ossoff campaign released a statement ahead of Thune's visit, calling on the Senate Majority Leader to state whether he would denounce Collins. The move follows multiple investigative news reports alleging that former aides and family members connected to the Republican candidate maintain ties to white nationalism.