Running with a “Loser”

Abstract

This chapter explores the effects of Donald Trump’s nomination on the conduct of Senate and House general election campaigns. Trump’s nomination prompted many Republican donors and interest groups to decrease their spending on the presidential race and increase their spending in support of other candidates. The chapter documents the effects of this rapid shift in resources on down-ballot campaigns, and compares 2016 to a variety of previous presidential elections in order to explore past Democratic and Republican strategies for insulating congressional candidates from problematic presidential nominees. The chapter shows how Republican donors and candidates distanced themselves from Trump (applying the lessons they had learned from past elections), and why they did so. Trump’s misogyny played an important role in the latter question, as many Republican candidates broke with Trump after the Access Hollywood tape emerged in October 2016.