Trump Talk Involved in Race for U.S. Congressional District

One of the more hotly contested seats in the United States Congress this election season comes in Illinois’ 10th District.

Both the Republican incumbent Bob Dold and Democratic nominee Brad Schneider have big name appeal and have faced each other for the same office twice before, Schneider winning in 2012 and Dold in 2014.

But one name that surely did not come up during the races in 2012 and 2014 and is making quite the appearance in 2016 is Donald Trump.

The Schneider campaign has centered its focus in recent weeks on connecting Dold and Trump, the lightning rod Republican presidential nominee facing Hillary Clinton in a race for the nation’s highest political office.

Several news releases have been released by Schneider for Congress and the Tenth Dems, an organization in Illinois’ 10th District trying to unseat Dold, centering on Dold’s participation in a “Beat Hillary at the Distillery” event in Lake County. While Dold has not made any statement supporting Trump’s candidacy and had steered clear of talk on the race for U.S. President lately, the Schneider campaign contends the congressman’s participation in the distillery event shows he is secretly trying to help elect Trump.

“Whatever he may say, Republican Bob Dold’s actions show he is raising money to defeat Hillary Clinton and thereby working to elect Donald Trump,” Schneider for Congress spokesman Steven Kirsch said.

But Dold has been clear, as early as last year, that he is not voting for Trump. A New York Times timeline showing exactly when Republican officeholders made the decision not to support him shows Dold vocally disavowing of Trump on Dec. 22, 2015. That came after Trump's controversial comments attacking John McCain and other American POWs.

Dold has said in several interviews that won't support Trump, both before and after the Republican nomination was secured. He called the decision "personal."

"For me, it was really more personal when he talked about veterans and John McCain…frankly, to anybody who is going to cast dispersions about his service to our country, I think is just unacceptable. Put that with his comments about women, his comments about Latinos, his comments about Muslims, I think that’s just unacceptable.”

The Dold campaign has instead focused on their candidate’s current work in office. The campaign recently touted Dold sponsoring a Campus Sexual Assault Whistleblower Protection Act that will provide students who are survivors of sexual assaults with additional protections so they will be able to report crimes without fear of retaliation.

Dold's camp has also refrained from connecting Schneider and Clinton.

Campaign finance information shows Schneider made a maximum contribution of $2,700 to Clinton during the primary battle between Clinton and Bernie Sanders.