Rauner says Trump tape is 'disgusting, appalling, outrageous'

After a tumultuous weekend for Donald Trump, the Illinois Republican Party plans to stay the course for now and focus on legislative attacks against Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan rather than work to distance itself from the controversial GOP presidential nominee.

Republican campaign strategists and activists said the reason is twofold: Trump is highly unlikely to defeat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in Illinois, a traditional blue state in presidential years; and they contend any Trump tarnish won't extend all the way down to the General Assembly campaigns at the center of the Nov. 8 state GOP strategy.

Yet they also admit there's the unknown, including whether there will be more damaging disclosures about Trump and whether there will be diminished Republican turnout amid enthusiasm gaps for both major White House contenders. By later this month, they said, some of those X factors may become more readily apparent in surveying the mood of voters.

While some Republicans maintain Trump's Sunday night debate performance against Clinton provided a much-needed campaign reset, the fallout of the GOP candidate's graphic remarks involving women that invoked sexual assault may still be a developing issue. During the debate, Trump denied engaging in the behavior he talked about in a leaked "Access Hollywood" recording from 2005 that became public Friday.

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