Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) earned some of the worst coverage of her Senate reelection bid after this week's televised debate, and its question on whether Donald Trump could be a “role model” for children. She said he could be; then, in a cleanup statement, averred that neither Hillary Clinton nor Trump were models to live up to.
That awkward message has been turned into a sun-dappled campaign spot, one of surprisingly few that Republicans are running in an effort to convince Democratic-leaning voters that they are separated from the presidential race. “Let's be honest,” says Ayotte. "Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are far from perfect. And I'm not perfect, either."
In much of the country — including the suburban congressional districts and swing states that gave Republicans their majorities — Trump's favorable ratings are more toxic than any Republican candidate's since 1964. But so far, only one Republican running for reelection, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), has said he will not vote for Trump, and only a few ads have been critical of the party's nominee. Rep. Robert Dold (R-Ill.), who represents some Chicago suburbs near where Clinton grew up, is out with an ad that shows him shutting off a TV after it plays updates on the campaign.
"That's what's wrong with politics, and both sides share the blame," says Dold.
Tellingly, the clips don't show Trump or Clinton fighting about any specific issue. The Clinton clip, from a video message to LIUNA that has produced an attack-ad-ready clip of her asking "why am I not 50 points ahead?" simply shows her saying "get Donald Trump's record out there" in a distractingly high volume.
The first of the cycle's Republican anti-Trump ads was similar, portraying Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) in a state of distress about both campaigns. "I don't care for him all that much, and I certainly don't trust Hillary," he says.
Each spot allows the Republican candidate to separate himself or herself from Trump without materially criticizing him on the issues. But each also assumes that voters see the Trump-Clinton choice as basically neutral. Polling contradicts that. Since the first presidential debate, Clinton has ticked up to a -12 average favorable rating — underwater, but improved. Trump's average favorable rating is -32. In bluer states and districts, Clinton's advantage is more pronounced. There's no expectation of the sort of pro-Obama vote that, in 2008 and 2012, helped blue-state Democratic candidates surge. But there's little indication that Republicans are threading the needle if an anti-Trump vote emerges.