Final Indiana Senate Debate Highlights

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Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly, Republican Mike Braun and Libertarian Lucy Brenton clashed with quips and catchphrases in the final 2018 U.S. Senate debate for Indiana.

“Mike Braun is an errand boy for Mitch McConnell,” Donnelly said.

“The senator, he takes his orders from Chuck Schumer,” Braun said.

The Indiana Debate Commission hosted the debate from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct 30. at Tobias Theater in Newfields. Emmy Award winning PBS anchor Amma Nawaz served as moderator.

The candidates drew upon familiar narratives, as Braun repeatedly positioned himself as an “outsider” with accomplishments in “the real world” through his tenure as president and CEO of Meyer Distributing.

“I’ve done things in the real world. That’s the difference between me and the senator,” Braun said.

Braun served for three years as a state representative and ten years on a school board, for a combined thirteen years of holding public office. Donnelly has served over five years in the Senate and six years in the House of Representatives, for a combined eleven years of public office. During the debate, Donnelly touted his bipartisanship during that tenure.

“I’ve passed 50 pieces of legislation with a Republican partner every single time, and Mike can’t even name a single Democrat that he would work with,” Donnelly said.

According to the Lugar Center, Donnelly is the fourth-most bipartisan senator over a period of 20 years from 1993 to 2014. Donnelly has also voted with President Donald Trump nearly 54 percent of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight.

However, Donnelly expressed disagreement with the president on his approach to Saudi Arabia in the wake of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder.

“The Saudis murdered a journalist who’s simply trying to make sure word gets out about what goes on,” Donnelly said. “I have said we should have a temporary halt to arm sales until we figure out what’s happened.”

President Donald Trump opposed this proposal and received broad support from Braun for his foreign policy.

“I support his leadership and the way he’ll handle the Saudis,” Braun said. “We now have regained respect in the world because it’s based on strength.”In response to reported plans from President Donald Trump and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) end birthright citizenship, both Donnelly and Braun said that they have to first look at the specifics of the proposal before deciding one way or another.

“I’d want to see that legislation and make sure it’s constitutional,” Donnelly said. “That’s the 14th Amendment of our constitution.”

“It will be something that I take a look at,” Braun said. “I’m not going to say whether I support it or not.”

Both Donnelly and Braun said they were “pro-life”, but Donnelly criticized Braun for not sharing his position to allow abortions in the case of life-threatening pregnancy, or when the conception was incestual or nonconsensual.

“If your daughter happens to be raped, Mike thinks the government has a role in the middle of that. I don’t,” Donnelly said.

“When it comes to the sanctity of life you cannot say you are pro-life and have your voting record,” Braun said.

In the press conference held after the debate, Donnelly labeled Braun as extreme on the issue of abortion. Donnelly staked out another contrasting position when he responded to reports that the Trump administration plans to rollback protections for transgender Americans under federal civil rights law.

"I support our LGBTQ brothers and sisters, and I don't think rolling back the rights of any American makes much sense,” Donnelly said.

Braun did not address this issue as he skipped the press conference, but as a state representative he voted against statewide discrimination protections for LGBTQ people.

The U.S. Senate election in Indiana will coincide with other several federal, statewide and local elections in the state on Tuesday, Nov. 6 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time.

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