washington <u+2014> when you are a united states senator running for re-election who has to apologize for saying your nominee for president is a role model for children, things may be going subpar for you. and you also may have created trouble for fellow imperiled incumbents who will now also likely be asked whether they think donald j. trump sets a nice example. senator kelly ayotte , republican of new hampshire, found herself in that thicket tuesday as she continued to try to walk back the word she uttered in a debate when asked if she saw mr. trump as an exemplar for youth : <u+201c>absolutely.<u+201d> ms. ayotte and her democratic opponent, gov. maggie hassan, are locked in one of the nation<u+2019>s closest senate races, a contest that could determine whether republicans retain one-party control of capitol hill. like ms. ayotte, many republican senators have struggled to reconcile their fortunes with those of mr. trump. <u+201c>welcome to the 2016 election, where most party loyalists on both sides feel they need to say publicly that their candidate is a good role model but privately don<u+2019>t really believe it themselves,<u+201d> said brian walsh, a republican strategist. <u+201c>what we see in new hampshire this week is the same tortured kabuki dance many americans are undergoing this election season, just on a higher-profile stage.<u+201d> almost instantly after the debate monday night, ms. ayotte<u+2019>s campaign released an unusual statement saying: <u+201c>i misspoke tonight. while i would hope all of our children would aspire to be president, neither donald trump nor hillary clinton have set a good example and i wouldn<u+2019>t hold up either of them as role models for my kids.<u+201d> ms. ayotte reiterated her comments while campaigning tuesday morning. but in the world of digital advertising, the leavings made for good political breakfast. ms. hassan<u+2019>s campaign quickly delivered a digital ad that captured the <u+201c>absolutely<u+201d> comment while trimming the portion of ms. ayotte<u+2019>s response that emphasized mr. trump was among many people who could be considered role models. (it also removed ms. ayotte<u+2019>s several <u+201c>ums<u+201d> as ms. hassan looked on with barely concealed amusement.) ms. ayotte has ample company in trying to fashion a response about how to regard mr. trump. one colleague, senator mark s. kirk of illinois, has gone the all-in route, openly scorning mr. trump. senator richard burr of north carolina has gone a different way, backing mr. trump in theory but expressing surprise at some of mr. trump<u+2019>s remarks and requesting that he say them no more. senator john mccain of arizona, who has been the target of remarks by mr. trump, represents the grit teeth and glare caucus, more or less refusing to answer questions about mr. trump<u+2019>s statements. he would likely pass on the role model thing, too. ms. ayotte has tried hard to avoid criticizing mr. trump <u+2014> and by proxy his voters <u+2014> saying several times that she <u+201c>supports<u+201d> him, but won<u+2019>t go as far as to endorse him. in an election cycle with at least half a dozen close races, both sides are trying to pounce on any perceived mistakes in the waning weeks of the campaign. the democratic senatorial campaign committee rushed tuesday to do its own digital ad , as did americans for responsible solutions, a gun safety advocacy group, which made a spot highlighting the senator<u+2019>s comments and juxtaposing them with footage of mr. trump<u+2019>s most incendiary comments on guns. <u+201c>republican senators and candidates will continue to get asked uncomfortable questions about donald trump for a very simple reason,<u+201d> said sadie weiner, a spokeswoman for the committee. <u+201c>they continue to support him even when he is pulling his most sexist, racist, unconscionable stunts, and their loyalty to party over common sense is quickly becoming a judgment question that is taking center stage in their races.<u+201d> bob salera, a spokesman for the republican congressional campaign committee, gets an a for effort on table turning. <u+201c>to be honest, we ruled out asking house democrats if hillary clinton is honest because the answer seemed too obvious,<u+201d> he said in a statement, referring to ms. hassan<u+2019>s flub this spring when she was asked if mrs. clinton was honest and declined to answer the question directly. <u+201c>but maggie hassan has proved that there is no question too simple for congressional democrats and democrat challengers desperately trying to walk the line between hillary clinton supporters and the voters who are repelled by her.<u+201d> some prominent supporters of mrs. clinton got in on the game. senator elizabeth warren, democrat of massachusetts, who generally does not answer questions from reporters, conveyed her thoughts via twitter: <u+201c>think about it: @realdonaldtrump calls latinos rapists, african americans thugs, & women fat pigs, & kelly ayotte thinks he<u+2019>s a role model.<u+201d> whether the role model remark adds up to more than two days of twitter twaddle for ms. ayotte is a matter of mystery. <u+201c>she<u+2019>s done as good a job as one could separating herself from trump for over a year,<u+201d> said fergus cullen, a former chairman of the new hampshire republican party . <u+201c>she<u+2019>s never appeared with him, not even during the primary season. she has condemned his most extreme remarks many times. <u+201c>i don<u+2019>t think voters are under any misimpression that she supports him or is glad he is the nominee. she didn<u+2019>t answer the question artfully,<u+201d> he added, <u+201c>and the democrats are trying to make it into a big deal, but i doubt it will stick.<u+201d> follow the new york times<u+2019>s politics and washington coverage on facebook and twitter , and sign up for the first draft politics newsletter . a version of this article appears in print on october 5, 2016, on page a14 of the new york edition with the headline: trump as role model? a senator<u+2019>s <u+2018>absolutely<u+2019> turns into <u+2018>i misspoke<u+2019>. order reprints | today's paper | subscribe
donald trump as role model? g.o.p. senator <u+2018>absolutely<u+2019> has second thoughts
jennifer steinhauer