In one of the hardest-fought races in the country — and one in which the White House is staking a lot of political capital — a Gravis Marketing poll released Wednesday showed Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly edging Republican Mike Braun among likely Indiana voters by 44 to 40 percent.
The same poll showed 7 percent of Hoosier voters supporting Libertarian Lucy Benton — a possible cause of nervousness among Republicans — and 10 percent undecided. The margin of error is 5.1 percent.
Shortly after millionaire businessman and former State Rep. Braun won the Republican primary, the president made an appearance in Indiana on his behalf. He also has tweeted strong salvos of support for the Republican hopeful.
Republicans recently had some fun with Donnelly’s latest TV spots. Never mentioning that he’s a Democrat, the senator quotes Ronald Reagan and vows to fight “socialists who want to turn healthcare over to the government.” A recent Congressional quarterly study found that the Indiana Democrat has voted with self-styled socialist and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders 74 percent of the time in office.
The comparison between their records was first highlighted by the Washington Free Beacon and spread extensively by Indiana Republicans.
As it has in most competitive Senate races, the confirmation fight over Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh has been a recent — and important — factor. During their last televised debate, Donnelly defended his vote against confirmation of Kavanaugh, while Braun said without hesitation he would have voted for President Trump’s nominee.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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