In normal political campaigns, a candidate who gets hit with a criminal indictment would be severely damaged.
However, multiple felony charges seem to have only helped former President Donald Trump among Republican primary voters.
Pollsters and consultants who spoke with Huffington Post's S.V. Date believe that at least some of the blame for this has to go to Trump's rivals for the nomination, nearly all of whom have defended Trump against what they claim is a political prosecution being conducted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
“You need to distinguish yourself from the field, based on your credentials, vision, competency and electability,” explained GOP consultant Kevin Madden. “It’s near impossible to do that when your opponent gets indicted and then you defend them.”
Sarah Longwell, a longtime GOP consultant who has been a frequent critic of Trump, argued that these Republicans have just made it harder for themselves to distinguish themselves from Trump even if more serious criminal charges get handed down in the coming months.
"I can only assume they will support him through additional indictments," she told Date. "When of course they shouldn’t and are simply repeating the same dynamics of 2016.”
GOP strategist Scott Jennings, a longtime ally of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), predicted that the response from Trump rivals will be different if he's charged in trying to hide classified documents from the government even after receiving a subpoena demanding their return.
"Future cases could be more serious and warrant different strategies," he said.
