Thune doubles down on support for Collins despite campaign woes

Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Friday reinforced national Republicans’ backing of U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, despite controversies surrounding the Georgia Republican’s Senate campaign and his lagging poll numbers.

At a news conference held inside the cafe at the Cross Creek Golf Club in Atlanta, Thune pushed back against the idea that the party was abandoning its Senate prospects in Georgia and turning its attention — and money — to other battleground states.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think that we can win the state of Georgia,” Thune, R-S.D., said. “This is a margin-of-error race. It’s going to come down to who gets out to vote on Election Day.”

The evening before, Thune and Gov. Brian Kemp co-headlined a fundraiser for Collins where he raised a reported $400,000, according to his campaign. Thune’s Senate Leadership Fund is putting another $1.7 million into the race to defeat incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff.

“It’s an expensive state — especially in the Atlanta market,” Thune said. “But we’re doing everything we can to get those resources in this direction.”

U.S. Rep. Mike Collins addresses the media following a tour of the Piedmont University Nursing Facility with Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz on Sunday, September 13, 2026, in Athens, GA. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

But Ossoff has an edge in fundraising and a significant lead in the polls.

And the Democrat’s campaign has looked to capitalize on a string of controversies including extremist social media posts made by Collins’ son-in-law and communications from one of his top aides saying that he used his congressional position to attempt to free a Holocaust denier from prison.

“Sen. John Thune is in Georgia,” Ossoff said during a virtual news conference ahead of the majority leader’s visit. “He needs to answer whether he will denounce Congressman Mike Collins’ extensive ties to white nationalism and neo-Nazi ideology.”

In response, the top Republican labeled Ossoff a “far-left-wing” candidate who is “using Georgia to set up a platform to run for national office.”

“If I’m John Ossoff, yes, I’m going to be trying to divert and distract and draw attention away from my record,” Thune said.

Collins called an ongoing House Ethics Committee investigation into alleged misuse of taxpayer funds by his office a “nothing burger.”

“This has been going on for over a year,” he said. “This is nothing but politics, and the Democrats will keep that in play until after the election.”