In 1996 the GOP mostly gave up on Dole who lost badly, but they not only held their majority in the Senate, but picked up 2 seats. The RNC is in charge of the GOTV effort and controls much of the fundraising, notably the big dollar fundraising. If Trump is still trailing like he is now after the first debate the RNC will qietly shift their focus down ballot. Even now, I doubt Trump is the priority in the battleground states with incumbant senators with tough races
This doesn't seem like a completely viable strategy. Things were different in the 90s, and now people don't split tickets nearly as much anymore. Trump sure as hell is no Bob Dole, either. He's tarnished the party brand significantly, and even if their brand recovers by 2018 or 2020, it's still in the dumpster
right now. We will probably see
more ticket splitting this cycle, but not enough to stave off big losses if Trump goes down in flames. Running away from the party standard-bearer didn't work in 2014 for Democrats and it's not going to work for Republicans now
(imo, anyway). The GOP will have it even worse, as Trump is most likely going to trash the party on a daily basis if they turn their backs on him like this. It's what he does best.
