Paul Ryan and House Republicans can try every trick in the book to deny the reality of the Trump Ticket, but these efforts are futile: they are only delaying the inevitable. Ultimately, Republicans will have to fall in line with their Party’s presumptive nominee, or will be guilty by association, and this will be highly damaging for down-ballot Republicans, particularly in swing districts.
Look no further than this national survey by Morning Consult, which shows that Donald Trump is already having a negative impact on House Republicans and their releection prospects. This negative impact from the top of the ticket will only continue to grow and become amplified as general election voters see and learn more of the dangers and divisiveness of the Party of Trump.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Poll: Voters Less Likely to Support Candidates Who Back Trump [Excerpts]
Morning Consult
by Eli Yokley
May 10, 2016
…Nearly half of American voters say they are less likely to support candidates for public office if they say they back Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee.
…If a candidate running for elected office said they support Trump, 38 percent of voters said they were “much less likely” to support them and 11 percent said they were “somewhat less likely.” Among those who identified as independents, roughly one-third (34 percent) said they were much less likely to support a Trump-backing candidate, while 40 percent said they were more likely to support a candidate who opposed him.
…Support for Trump’s candidacy is particularly troubling for women. Almost half of the 522 women polled (43 percent) said they would be much less likely to vote for a candidate who backs Trump, and 20 percent of Republican women said supporting Trump would also make them less likely to vote for a candidate.
…Trump’s rise has placed a number of vulnerable Republicans in awkward spots when they have been asked about their views. New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, for example, played a game of semantics last week when her campaign said she would support, but not endorse, Trump’s candidacy.