Losing hope for the White House, the GOP is exploring a plan to cast congressional candidates as a check on President Hillary Clinton.
Republicans, worried about preserving their House and Senate majorities in the face of fierce headwinds, are accelerating their plans to distance themselves from Donald Trump – and may soon concede, if only implicitly, his defeat.
Party strategists are mapping out blueprints for down-ballot candidates, in TV ads and on the campaign trail, to present themselves as checks on a Hillary Clinton presidency. It’s an approach that would essentially admit a Trump loss. In interviews, nearly one dozen Republican operatives said they had begun poll-testing the idea – which one labeled a “break glass in case of emergency” strategy – to gauge how the public would react to it.
It would represent a remarkable step – one not seen since 1996, when down-ballot Republicans, resigned to Bob Dole’s loss, campaigned as backstops to Bill Clinton’s second term. It comes at a time of mounting unease among Republicans about Trump’s prospects and how it will impact the fortunes of others. In recent days, a debate has begun to simmer among the party’s operatives about whether it will soon be time for the Republican National Committee to cut Trump off and redirect resources to congressional lawmakers.
“It would be political malpractice if you weren’t exploring the effectiveness of that messaging strategy,” said Rob Autry, a Republican pollster who’s looking into the idea. “If the current polling trends hold true, then down-ballot Republicans will need to start thinking outside the box.”
David Kochel, a veteran GOP strategist, said the party’s Senate hopefuls “should be watching to see where the bottom might be” for Trump. “It’s still early but some campaigns will need to come up with new and interesting ways to create distance from the top of the ticket,” he added.
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Republicans prep 'break glass' emergency plan as Trump tumbles via @POLITICO https://t.co/HCCKQ5Wq2X pic.twitter.com/uZQArrjzvt
— Ron Nehring (@RonNehring) August 20, 2016
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