# Anybody running for election in your state trying to run on trump's (badly tailored) coattails? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 21, 2020, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-running-for-election-in-your-state-trying-to-run-on-trumps-badly-tailored-coattails/915917 "2020-07-21T12:21:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-running-for-election-in-your-state-trying-to-run-on-trumps-badly-tailored-coattails/915917/1 "2020-07-21T12:21:35Z")
The Republican candidate for the Senate in 2018 in Michigan was John James. His campaign ads then were all “trump, trump, me & trump”. He lost. Now he’s back, and as far as I’ve seen, his ads make no mention of trump whatsoever. No surprise considering what a train wreck dumpster fire the trump admin has become. I would figure any candidate who did support trump and / or wanted the support of his hardcore base would advertise their affinity with trump quietly, dog whistle-style. Especially in a swing state like ours trending away from trump. But this morning I just saw an ad for Lisa McClain, running for Michigan’s 10th District, and she prominently mentioned her support for trump and his policies. A bit surprising to me. She does advertise herself as a “conservative outsider”, so maybe she figures she has nothing to lose in cosying up to trump. I don’t know much about her, the 10th is not my district. So I was wondering about other states-- how visible is the trump coattail action among your conservative candidates? I imagine it’s more prominent in Southern or heartland states where trump support is still relatively strong. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-running-for-election-in-your-state-trying-to-run-on-trumps-badly-tailored-coattails/915917/2 "2020-07-21T14:08:29Z")
Yup. I live in IN-05. Susan Brooks (Rep.) decided not to run for reelection. It’s an interesting district, demographics-wise. It has a pretty even split between rural voters and Indianapolis suburbs. Brooks wasn’t incredibly conservative, but her predecessor Dan Burton was. Anyway, the primary was a shit-show. There were a ton of people on the Republican ballot, and none of them were all that enticing (according to my conservative wife). The winner was Ukrainian business woman Victoria Spartz. She self-funded a good portion of her primary campaign, and won pretty handily. Her campaign materials (which my mailbox was full of on a daily basis) were all pro-Trump. Current polls show that it’s a toss-up between her and Christina Hale, who I really like. (She was actually out campaigning for state senate the day we moved into our house, and I had a very nice chat with her.) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-running-for-election-in-your-state-trying-to-run-on-trumps-badly-tailored-coattails/915917/3 "2020-07-21T14:22:39Z")
Yeah, MI-10, where Lisa McClain is running, is Michigan’s thumb, which is rural and, I’m sure, still very red. So I guess it’s a no-brainer that she would push a trump affiliation. For conservative House candidates it’s going to be a calculation of red vs. blue voters within their district whether they push a trump affiliation, so maybe my question should be more directed toward the ads of conservative Senate candidates, who have to appeal to voters throughout their state. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-running-for-election-in-your-state-trying-to-run-on-trumps-badly-tailored-coattails/915917/4 "2020-07-21T14:46:10Z")
Mitch McConnell. On a smaller level, [Thomas Massie](https://ballotpedia.org/Thomas_Massie) ran campaign ads saying that his opponent, Todd McMurtry, was against Trump, despite being a Kentucky Republican. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-running-for-election-in-your-state-trying-to-run-on-trumps-badly-tailored-coattails/915917/5 "2020-07-21T15:04:14Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Mitch McConnell. > … Kentucky’s got to be as red as it gets, state-wise. And McConnell is kind of “ride or die” with trump at this point. If McConnell WAS to start distancing himself from trump in his campaign, I imagine that would be final proof trump’s reelection chances were cooked. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-running-for-election-in-your-state-trying-to-run-on-trumps-badly-tailored-coattails/915917/6 "2020-07-21T15:06:40Z")
That’s why I just used his name, and no details. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-running-for-election-in-your-state-trying-to-run-on-trumps-badly-tailored-coattails/915917/7 "2020-07-21T15:14:27Z")
Yep, 'nuff said. ---
**Author:** ![mtnmatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-running-for-election-in-your-state-trying-to-run-on-trumps-badly-tailored-coattails/915917/8 "2020-07-21T17:19:58Z")
Here in the CA 45th, Greg Raths is a Trump supporter, challenging Katie Porter for the seat. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-running-for-election-in-your-state-trying-to-run-on-trumps-badly-tailored-coattails/915917/9 "2020-07-21T17:22:53Z")
Mike Garcia. CA 25. Won the election to fill a vacated seat, but has to face a challenge in November. Purple district. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-running-for-election-in-your-state-trying-to-run-on-trumps-badly-tailored-coattails/915917/10 "2020-07-21T19:47:50Z")
There’s a guy who owns a plumbing company in the Kansas City area who is running for the Senate seat in Kansas, and based on his TV ads he’s definitely all-in with Trump. I guess we’ll see in a couple weeks how well that works for him (primary is Aug 4th). ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-running-for-election-in-your-state-trying-to-run-on-trumps-badly-tailored-coattails/915917/11 "2020-07-21T22:29:17Z")
not my state but Liz Cheney getting grief for not being 100% behind Trump > **[House conservatives pile on Cheney at GOP conference meeting](https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/21/house-cheney-gop-conference-375812)** > > Jim Jordan, a Freedom Caucus co-founder and one of Trump’s top allies, called out Liz Cheney for all the times she has opposed the president. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-running-for-election-in-your-state-trying-to-run-on-trumps-badly-tailored-coattails/915917/12 "2020-07-22T11:55:12Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > not my state but Liz Cheney getting grief for not being 100% behind Trump Figures she would get grief from Gym Jordan and Matt “Crash the” Gaetz.