The GOP is hoping to put Democratic Congressional candidates across the country on the hot seat for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid‘s (D-Nev.) use of racially charged language.

Republicans are expected to begin demanding Democratic Senate candidates return campaign contributions from Reid and denounce his comments that President Barack Obama is a “light skinned” black man who speaks without a “Negro dialect.”

According to Republican strategists, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and GOP candidates are expected to try to either force Democratic candidates to distance themselves from Reid or run the risk of being tied to his comments.

“Senate Democrats have a choice — to stay silent and stand with Harry Reid, or to speak out and rightly condemn these remarks. We intend to hold them accountable. We also certainly hope that [Congressional Black Caucus] members and national civil rights groups will also speak out on Reid’s comments with the same fervor that they criticized [former Majority Leader] Trent Lott [R-Miss.] in 2002,” one GOP strategist said.