Key Highlight: For the five GOP women fighting to preserve their House careers, the perils are obvious. Rejecting Trump could alienate his energized supporters, jeopardizing needed votes. Embracing him might cost support from women, Hispanics and others he’s angered with incendiary comments and invite criticism for backing a man who has repeatedly insulted their own gender.
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Rep. Elise Stefanik, representing a huge chunk of upstate New York, didn’t agree to be interviewed but referenced a terse statement she’d provided to the Albany Times Union saying she’ll “support my party’s nominee” — without naming Trump.
“Evasive Elise Stefanik has dodged questions and even avoided saying Donald Trump’s name publicly, but no amount of distancing and side-stepping can change the fact that the Congresswoman is on the Trump ticket,” said Bryan Lesswing at the DCCC. ““Now that Donald Trump is the presumptive nominee and will be supporting him this November, Evasive Elise should get the talking points ready for defending Trump and his dangerous views that insult women, trample on the Constitution and make America less safe.”
Most House GOP women in tough races biding time on Trump
By Alan Fram
May 23, 2016
Before deciding if she’ll vote for Donald Trump, Martha McSally says she’ll spend time “determining what kind of man he is.” Mia Love says some comments by the presumptive Republican presidential candidate need “some sort of explanation,” while Renee Ellmers backs him because he’s “a problem solver.”
McSally, Love and Ellmers are not women interviewed randomly on the street. They’re Republican members of the House, among five GOP congresswomen facing competitive re-election races whose reactions highlight the hard choices Trump’s provocative statements are forcing on his own party.
Each of the five must confront a question with political and personal implications: Will you support your party’s standard-bearer, knowing his history of comments about women that many consider offensive? Trump has called some women a “dog,” a “fat pig” or “flat-chested,” republished a tweet dubbing Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly a “bimbo” and accused likely Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton of using “the woman’s card” to win votes.
“I think it puts all women in an awkward position,” Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., whose seat is safe and is a leader of the House GOP campaign committee, said of Trump’s impact on female Republican lawmakers. “And I want to see that tone and temperament changed.”
Trump, of course, is causing angst across the GOP.
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“I’ll spend the next six months if needed watching closely, learning more about him and determining what kind of man he is before I decide whether to give him my vote,” it said.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, representing a huge chunk of upstate New York, didn’t agree to be interviewed but referenced a terse statement she’d provided to the Albany Times Union saying she’ll “support my party’s nominee” — without naming Trump.
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