Will suburban mayor pay political price for backing Trump?

[...] the 71-year-old, who was a Trump delegate to last summer's Republican National Convention, faces the fight of his career Tuesday against a union organizer and county board member who was a Bernie Sanders delegate at the Democratic National Convention.

The race has captured attention well beyond the town of 75,000, as a segment of the electorate angry over the outcome of the presidential election pushes back and Democrats look to capitalize on that energy.

Claar's rival, Jackie Traynere, is getting fundraising and other support from Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, other top Democrats and groups such as Our Revolution, an offshoot of Sanders' campaign formed to carry on his progressive "movement."

The officially nonpartisan election also could signal whether political candidates — even those running for local offices — could encounter fallout at the ballot box for backing Trump.

More than 1,000 people signed a petition that was delivered to Claar asking him not to hold the fundraiser, she said, noting Trump made derogatory statements during the campaign about Mexican immigrants, Muslims and women.

In her talks with voters, Traynere said she's heard from Muslims fearful their children will be attacked and teachers who had children of immigrants crying in their classrooms because they were afraid their parents would be deported because Trump is in office.

Claar and his supporters, meanwhile, call Traynere a "jobs killer," noting she wants a graduated state income tax in which higher earners pay a higher tax rate.