Republican leaders felt this was finally the year that they could add the Governor’s Office and state House of Representatives to their majority in the State Senate. A trifecta that would give them absolute control of state politics.

U.S. Senate candidate Chris Vance felt he was the perfect alternative to incumbent Democrat Patty Murray, feeling she could be held accountable for the problems inside the nation’s capitol. Republican businessman and former Seattle Port Commissioner Bill Bryant thought incumbent Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee was vulnerable for several reasons, including the Department of Corrections early release fiasco and the poor shape of Western State Hospital. Those issues, combined with Democratic standard-bearer Hillary Clinton’s considerable political baggage, had Republicans excited about their future.

Call it a miscalculation of the primary process or call it politics as we have never seen before, then add in that the top of the Republican ticket is Donald Trump in a Democratic-leaning state, and Republican prospects don’t look as promising as they did just a few months ago.

Vance and Bryant are moderates who, given the dynamics, expected they might have had a chance at winning. Bryant, in particular, seemed to present an excellent opportunity for a strong showing.

But the biggest impact on this year’s campaigns hasn’t been policy initiatives, creative ideas, or even a spirit of what we can accomplish together. Rather, it’s been the personality cult of Donald Trump. Somehow, the standard political rules don’t apply to him. If any other candidate had refused to make their tax returns available, voters would have turned on them immediately. Trump still hasn’t released his, even though he said he would and the Internal Revenue Service says there is no reason he can’t. He again refused in Monday’s debate.

Trump has attacked women, Muslims and Hispanics. He’s made light of handicapped people, used vulgar language, and criticized his own party leaders. Not only is he still in the race, he could actually win it. His supporters don’t seem at all troubled by his behavior.

But the concern among Republicans is that, if Trump doesn’t win, he could drag down the rest of the ticket in a loss. Power and control hang in the balance nationally and in Washington, and all sides are making a hard charge. These last few weeks may be as “spirited” as any in recent memory.

I like “spirited,” but “nasty” also comes to mind.

Trump’s campaign has been the most unusual race I can recall in the last 50 years. He says things that are beyond belief and the media fact-checkers seem to work overtime correcting his errors. His brash and unvarnished style, along with his fascination with Russian President Vladimir Putin, continues to alarm military and policy experts. Yet, because of her own weaknesses, Clinton has not been able to close the deal.

A key question in this state is, who will actually return their ballot? Trump’s appeal is to an unusual cast of conservative, disaffected, lower-educated white men and those who feel the system is rigged against them. Will his supporters vote in enough numbers? Will they vote Republican on the rest of their ballot or is it only Trump they care about?

Other than Democrats, there are also many people who fear Trump’s election. They include Republicans and Independents. What percent of Republicans, or conservative Independents, will either vote for Clinton or not vote in the presidential race at all? Will conservative Independents vote for Clinton and then continue to vote Democrat down their ballot? Here in Washington, the key may be how voters cast their ballots in the other races further down the ballot, and there is a significant effort to register voters from groups that Trump has alienated, such as Latinos.

Earlier this summer I asked several prominent Democrats and Republicans who would get their vote for President. The Democrats said Clinton or the party nominee. Most of the Republicans would not commit to support Trump, even if he was the party’s nominee. Most didn’t want to answer the question at all.

Fearing Trump could drag him down, Vance distanced himself from Trump early on and may have paid a price: Trump supporters may not have voted for Vance, as Murray overwhelmed him in the primary. Bryant avoided the question for months in an effort to not alienate Trump supporters: He still lost in the primary but was more competitive. He has now said he won’t support Trump as he tries to move undecided voters into his column and attract voters actually recruited in opposition to Trump.

Most political watchers are predicting a big turnout. In this state, that usually bodes well for Democrats. But how big and in which parts of the state? If big enough, it could move the Democrats’ control of the state House of Representatives from 50-48 to 53-45. A big Democratic turnout in Vancouver or Mercer Island could put the Democrats in control of the state Senate.

How will Trump factor into the local races? Both Democrats Mike Pellicciotti and Kristine Reeves will support Clinton as their party’s nominee, but neither incumbent, Republicans Linda Kochmar and Teri Hickel, would say who they’re supporting for President when asked previously.

But Trump’s impact is so large that Republican candidates fear alienating voters no matter what they answer. If they say they support him they may, or may not, pick up his voters. If the say they’re not supporting him they likely lose his supporters.

Because local candidates like Kochmar and Hickel are well-known, they may be able to avoid a significant negative reaction from Trump supporters. But statewide candidates from Federal Way, like Republican State Auditor candidate Mark Miloscia and State Supreme Court candidate David Larson, are in a much more difficult position. It might be difficult to campaign in deep-red Eastern Washington when you haven’t endorsed Trump. Larson says judicial requirements preclude him from commenting, but given the cultish nature of Trump loyalists it may not be enough. It’s even more difficult for Miloscia. Bizarre, unreasonable, shocking! Such is the impact Donald Trump’s candidacy has made on politics, even here in our little corner of the world.

Federal Way resident Bob Roegner is the former mayor of Auburn. He can be reached at bjroegner@comcast.net.