GIVEN A WHITE NATIONALIST PRESIDENT WHY WOULDN'T THEY RUN?:

Arthur Jones, a Holocaust denier who is known for white supremacist advocacy, is poised to become the Republican nominee for an Illinois congressional seat. 

The Illinois Republican Party has condemned Jones and disavowed his campaign, telling local media that "there is no room for Neo-Nazis in American politics". 

In Wisconsin, Paul Nehlen, who has decried supposed Jewish control of media, is challenging a Republican incumbent for a seat later this year.

Although Nehlen has little chance of beating incumbent Paul Ryan, who is the Republican Speaker of the House, in the primary runoff, and Jones is almost sure to lose to his Democratic opponent, critics say their presence in the Republican Party is indicative of a worrying trend.

Jared Holt, a researcher and writer at Right Wing Watch, a watchdog group, explained that fringe candidates attempt to infiltrate mainstream politics in almost every cycle, but argued that 2018 "is a bit different".

"Fringe candidates have made a lot more noise and have been more transparent with their fringe world view and alliances with extremists than we've seen in prior cycles," he told Al Jazeera.

Although these candidates may have little chances of making it to office, Holt added that their rhetoric and publicity "still effectively shift the 'Overton Window' in a way that drags the right further towards the fringes and gradually works to make Republican voters more open to the ideas of the alt-right".

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