Trump-Clinton race tests Senate race in reliably GOP Georgia

ATLANTA (AP) — Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson insists he won't be a "volunteer apologist" for Donald Trump or anyone else who utters something stupid, but that defiant independence is being sorely tested by the GOP presidential nominee's sinking support and Democrat Hillary Clinton's push into surprisingly competitive Georgia.

The down-ballot Senate race involving the affable, two-term Isakson wasn't ranked as poachable for Democrats despite the changing demographics in the southern state and the higher, diverse turnout of a presidential election year.

Recent polls show Trump and Hillary Clinton locked in a tight race as the Democrat opens a campaign office in the state and invests in a field organization.

Isakson holds a single-digit lead over first-time candidate Jim Barksdale, a wealthy investment manager whose opposition to trade deals and calls for a higher minimum wage has attracted backers of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the unsuccessful Democratic presidential candidate.

In metro Atlanta recently, Isakson talked about his Senate work to members of a Rotary club, a business group and a Realtors' association.

"If Donald Trump or anybody else makes a stupid statement, I'm not going to be their apologist and let the press beat up on me," Isakson said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Ben Hinson, a retired business owner from Macon, said he plans to support Trump because Clinton is the alternative, but he does worry that independents will be driven away from the overall GOP ticket.

With a $4 million cash advantage, his first ad of the general election made a direct pitch to Democrats, focusing on Isakson's response to the 2009 murder of Georgian Kate Puzey while volunteering in the west African country of Benin for the Peace Corps.