Vulnerable House Republicans are adopting a strategy for campaigning with Donald Trump as their nominee: Bury their heads in the sand and hope for the best.

POLITICO interviewed a half-dozen lawmakers in tough reelection races, ones who have perhaps the most to fear about Trump as their general election standard-bearer.


Their plan, in a word, is to ignore him. Disregard the racket in the presidential race and keep it local. Whether voters will do the same is another matter, but they're playing the hand they've been dealt.

Few of the Republican lawmakers were comfortable discussing Trump. Some wouldn't utter his name.

“I’m focusing on the 10th District in Illinois and really focusing on trying to come up with the solutions that are out there,” said Rep. Robert Dold (R-Ill.), who won his seat in 2010, lost it two years later, then won it back in 2014. His race this year is rated a pure toss-up. “Honestly, I’m focused on one race. I’m focused on one race alone.”

Dold was one of the first Republican lawmakers to say he wouldn’t support Trump even if he won the nomination, after the New Yorker mocked Arizona Sen. John McCain for being a prisoner of war.

Elections in moderate, swing districts are usually decided on the margins and some establishment GOP leaders worry that Trump’s comments about women and minorities could turn off independents. There’s also concern that reliable Republican voters could stay home, as Democrats stampede to the polls to defeat him.

That view isn't unanimous: Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), for one, said Trump has the potential to turn out new Republican voters in large enough numbers to help the party win or keep competitive seats. At the same time, the California Republican is privately advising GOP lawmakers in tight races to keep their focus at home and ignore Trump.

And it's safe to say GOP House members on the hot seat in November are intent to steer clear of Trump — and the matter of how he might affect their fortunes.

Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-Maine), a top target for Democrats in 2016, would only say it was a “good question” whether he would appear with Trump if the presidential contender traveled to his district. An uncomfortable pause ensued as the question hung in the air and Poliquin waited for an elevator to the House floor.

Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) said he’d share a stage with “whoever” was the Republican nominee, but didn't name Trump specifically. The GOP lawmaker represents an urban district with a slight Republican advantage that went for President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012.

“If any of the remaining candidates came to my district I would considering going with them,” MacArthur said. “Look, I’m always weighing. ... it is hard to know what the impact would be. My focus is to ... be the best member of Congress I can be.”

Freshman Rep. Mike Bishop (R-Mich.) said he "probably" wouldn’t share a stage with Trump.

“I’m hoping that if he is the nominee, he’ll modulate, he’ll be presidential and I won’t have to defend his words," Bishop said.

Trump’s influence on down-ticket races is a hot topic of debate in both parties. Senior Republicans have argued that his appeal to independent voters could help the GOP in November. But one influential pollster told GOP House leaders earlier this year that Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz would be a drag on Republican candidates nationally.

House Democrats are staking much of their campaign strategy on the belief that Trump would repel female and minority voters in droves, and help them begin to dig out from deep in the House minority. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Ben Ray Luján has said a Trump nomination would put dozens of seats in play.

Among the GOP members the DCCC believes Trump would be particularly harmful to are Steve Knight of Southern California, Mike Coffman of Colorado, Pat Meehan of Pennsylvania and Carlos Curbelo of South Florida.

"There are some very uncomfortable questions that we are going to make sure that Republican incumbent House members and senators who are in competitive districts are going to have to answer," said Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. Does Carlos Curbelo think that 11 million undocumented immigrants should be deported? Does he think we should bar an entire religion of people? Does he think Mexicans are rapists and drug dealers?"

Curbelo has blasted Trump for his comments about immigrants and Muslims, and vowed not to vote for the business mogul if he wins the nomination.

Still, the Trump caucus on the Hill is notably small for a candidate this far ahead in the delegate count. Four lawmakers, Chris Collins of New York, Duncan Hunter of California, Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee and Tom Marino of Pennsylvania, were early Trump backers. More recently, Reps. Tom Reed of New York and Renee Ellmers of North Carolina, as well as Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, have announced their support for him.