A House Republican facing a surprisingly competitive reelection this year said he’ll support Donald Trump for president, “no matter what crazy things he says.”
Rep. Kevin Yoder (Kan.), who’s represented a suburban Kansas City district since 2011, was asked about the GOP nominee during an appearance before a group of Cub Scouts on Oct. 11.
He made the remarks at a church in Lenexa, Kan., three days after the release of a 2005 recording in which Trump brags about using his celebrity to get away with groping and kissing women without their consent.
{mosads}A cellphone video shows Yoder taking questions from the Scouts, who posed hard-hitting ones such as “What’s the coolest place you’ve ever traveled to?” and “Do you like pizza?”
Then one of the kids asked whom Yoder plans to choose for president.
“Aha! Which parent put him up to that? Is there a hot mic in here?” Yoder joked. “Well, I’m a Republican, so I’m going to be supporting the Republican nominee, no matter what crazy things he says.”
Polling conducted by both parties has shown Trump trailing Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in Yoder’s district by as much as 10 points.
Two of the most recent polls, both conducted for Democrats, show Yoder leading his Democratic challenger, Jay Sidie, by only a few points. A Global Strategy Group survey found Sidie behind Yoder by 4 points, similar to Garin-Hart-Yang poll showing him within the margin of error, at 5 points down.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report currently gives a slight edge to Yoder, rating the district “Lean Republican.”