By Lisa Hagen - 04/09/16 09:11 AM EDT
Democratic Senate hopefuls seeking to help their party take back the chamber have one name in common on their lips: Donald Trump.
The candidates hope to tie the Republican opponents they’ll likely face to the bombast and controversial rhetoric of the GOP front-runner if he’s the party’s standard-bearer.
Many of the vulnerable GOP senators have said they’ll back whoever wins the nomination -- even Trump. But a handful has remained silent about whether they’d support him.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) frequently blasts out press releases casting Republicans as the “Party of Trump.”
The campaigns and candidates themselves are also not shying away from talking about Trump. Down-ballot Democrats are capitalizing on Trump's recent string of bad press in their respective battleground races.
Holly Shulman, a former Democratic National Committee spokeswoman, called it a "winning strategy" for Democrats.
"No matter who the Republican nominee is, whoever the Republicans are running for Senate or governor or Congress, are going to have to have their name right next to them on that ballot," Shulman said.
Even if Trump doesn't win the nomination, Shulman noted that his dominance in the race is "going to be hard to shake" for GOP incumbents.
Some candidates jumped on Trump’s recent comments about punishing women who get illegal abortions, which he later reversed his position and clarified that only abortion providers will be held responsible.
In New Hampshire, for example, Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan ripped Trump’s “blatantly anti-women campaign” and knocked GOP Sen. Kelly Ayotte for saying she’d support Trump if he’s the Republican nominee.
"[U]nfortunately, Ayotte's continued refusal to condemn Trump's candidacy is not surprising given that she and Trump are cut from the same anti-choice cloth, with Ayotte stating that Roe v. Wade should 'certainly' be overturned and repeatedly voting to defund Planned Parenthood,” Hassan said in a March statement.
In the open race for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) seat, former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto in a statement called on GOP Senate candidates Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.) and 2010 GOP Senate nominee Sharron Angle to condemn Trump’s remarks on abortion.
In Arizona, Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick’s (D-Ariz.) campaign ripped her likely GOP opponent Sen. John McCain for backing Trump if he’s the nominee and she’s spotlighted the senator’s stances on immigration.
Even in seats that are likely to remain blue, Democratic candidates invoke Trump's name rhetoric.
In the race for the seat being vacated by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), California Attorney General Kamala Harris has called Trump’s abortion comment “perilous.”
Rival Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) has ripped him for his comments regarding the Latino community and last month, chided him for proposing to monitor Muslim neighborhoods following the terrorist attacks in Brussels.
Both Harris and Sanchez will compete in a “jungle primary” where the top two finishers, regardless of party affiliation, will advance to the general election.
Democratic candidates have also seized on the recent dust-up that involved Michelle Fields, a former Breitbart reporter who filed charges against Trump’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. Trump has unequivocally supported him and has refused to fire him.
In Illinois, Rep. Tammy Duckworth’s (D-Ill.) campaign tried to tie GOP Sen. Mark Kirk to the presidential front-runner’s “misogynistic victim-blaming” and referenced Trump questioning why Fields didn’t scream since she tweeted a picture of her arm with bruises.
The congresswoman, who has been leading in polls and has a slight cash advantage over Kirk, has been critical of Trump, saying his presidency would be “dangerous” and “cruel.”
While criticism of Trump appears to be universal from Democratic Senate hopefuls, some candidates have tried to localize their efforts to link their GOP opponents to Trump.
In Ohio, former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland has knocked GOP Sen. Rob Portman for his support of Trump if he wins the nomination and tying it to job losses and outsourcing of Ohio jobs, which has become a central theme in the race for both parties.
“This is another example proving why Senator Portman’s continued decision to back Trump if he is the nominee is so disturbing,” Strickland spokeswoman Liz Margolis said in a March statement. “It’s also a reminder that Senator Portman himself has a long record of championing measures that would dramatically restrict women’s access to critical healthcare services and birth control.”
But Portman said he believes that Trump at the top of the ticket won’t hurt his reelection chances. He faces a tough race in a state that went to President Obama in 2008 and 2012, though Portman has a significant cash advantage and recent polls show a dead heat.
Other Democratic hopefuls have used the Supreme Court vacancy left by Justice Antonin Scalia's death as a backdrop for their Trump criticisms.
Last month, the DSCC launched digital ads accusing vulnerable Republican senators of wanting Trump to select the nominee for the Supreme Court vacancy.
In Pennsylvania, GOP Sen. Pat Toomey, who leads in recent polls, has been attacked by his Democratic opponents for refusing to consider Merrick Garland, Obama’s Supreme Court nominee.
Former Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak knocked Toomey for receiving money for his reelection from Trump.
“It’s interesting who Pat Toomey will – or will not – meet with when it suits his political purposes,” Sestak said in a statement from late March. “Toomey won’t meet with Donald Trump, but he will take money for his reelection campaign from a Donald Trump fundraiser.”
Sestak's primary rival in the April 26 primary, former gubernatorial chief of staff Katie McGinty, also criticized Trump, calling his comments on abortion "completely repulsive" and said it was "downright appalling that Pat Toomey has refused to denounce Trump’s hateful rhetoric and has pledged to support the Republican presidential nominee – even if it is Trump."
While other Republican candidates have said, under pressure from the media, that they'd support Trump, Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson initially said he’d be open to stumping with Trump. But in later interview, he tried to soften his joke that the two names rhyme -- “The Ronald and The Donald."
Former Sen. Russ Feingold’s (D-Wis.) campaign mocked Johnson’s initial embrace of Trump in a release containing video of Johnson's comments.
Republicans and outside groups are already gearing up for the potential fall-out of a Trump -- or Cruz -- nomination that could imperil down-ballot Republicans and jeopardize majorities in Congress.
In December, the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s (NRSC) private memo about how to handle Trump as the nominee was revealed. While calling on GOP candidates to embrace Trump’s anti-Washington agenda, NRSC Executive Director Ward Baker warned about getting caught in the crosshairs of Trump’s inflammatory remarks.
“We need not be tied to him so closely that we have to engage in permanent cleanup or distancing maneuvers,” he wrote. “Don’t get drawn into every Trump statement and every Trump dust-up,” he added before noting that “Trump is subject to farcical fits.”
Outside groups -- mainly ones affiliated with the Koch Brothers’ network -- plan to redirect resources for the presidential race and shift them in an effort to protect Senate GOP incumbents. The Koch network plans to spend nearly $900 million before November.
Earlier this week, Americans for Prosperity launched a $1.1 million campaign in Wisconsin backing Johnson. Freedom Partners Action Fund has already lobbed attacks at Strickland in Ohio. And Concerned Veterans for America ran ads in support of Toomey in Pennsylvania and Heck in Nevada.
Haley Britzky contributed
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