“Anytime you present a message that is seen as hate,” said Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado, “you’re going to have a negative impact.”

A shrewd and cautious politician, Gardner supports Marco Rubio’s bid for the Republican nomination. The Coloradans’ anti-Trump rhetoric–stronger than that of most Republicans–underscores the concern among office-holders over the impact the billionaire showman is having on the party.

Gardner especially objected to the Trump proposal to bar, for now, Muslims from entering America. “The idea we would create some kind of religious test for entry into the country is absolutely wrong.” He wondered if advocates would allow President Obama “to create the religious test and to enforce that. They wouldn’t really like that idea. But that’s what he’s espousing.”