This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Washington • In a normal election cycle, national political parties stress the importance of localizing congressional races. It isn't about the party's platform or its national agenda but about the local candidates and what they can do for their neighbors.

Not this year.

In 2016, it's all about Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

"Donald Trump is a bully, a bigot, the most divisive politician in a generation and the most unqualified presidential nominee in our history," Rep. Ben Ray Lujån, the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), told the National Press Club on Tuesday. "And every House Republican who failed to stand up to him bears responsibility for his rise."

Greg Walden, National Republican Congressional Committee chairman, countered, during a Christian Science Monitor breakfast last week, that "Hillary Clinton is a bigger drag in our competitive seats than Donald Trump."

That nationalizing of congressional campaign messaging is a stark change from recent elections and is playing out in Utah's 4th District rematch between GOP Rep. Mia Love and Democratic challenger Doug Owens.

Love, elected to Congress in 2014, already has sent emails seeking donations for her campaign by tying Owens to Clinton. In one, she insisted he had endorsed Clinton, then sort of backtracked when The Salt Lake Tribune pointed out that Owens has not done so.

"[M]inutes after Mia sent the email below, Doug Owens tried to deny supporting Hillary Clinton," the next email said.

Lujan, a New Mexico Democrat, was "very optimistic" his party could flip 30 seats to take control of the House, especially, he said, with Trump at the top of the GOP ticket.

"Anything is possible," he added, "and more is possible with Donald Trump speaking every day."

The DCCC boss said each congressional campaign is unique, but in this case, there is a overwhelming drive to note that Republicans have to answer for their standard-bearer.

"If Donald Trump is your nominee, he is your problem and your responsibility," he said. "You break it, you buy it."

Of course, if Democrats tie their rivals to Trump, Republicans will link their foes to Clinton, who is also a polarizing figure. Lujan said he was fine with that.

"If this comes down to a contest between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton," he said, "it's going to be a very strong year for Democrats."

On the other side, Walden, R-Ore., said that in the most competitive races, Clinton hurts down-ballot Democrats. He had previously said Trump might put some races in jeopardy but backed off that assertion.

"Things evolve and what we now know looking at the data is that Hillary Clinton is a bigger drag in our competitive seats than Donald Trump," Walden said, according to The Christian Science Monitor.

How all this affects Utah's 4th District is an open question.

A Tribune poll last month showed Trump and Clinton tied with 35 percent of the vote and Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson at 13 percent. Some 16 percent of voters were undecided.

The survey did not break down Trump or Clinton support in the 4th District. tburr@sltrib.com