Tag Archives: Joe Donnelly

Former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz endorses Republican Mike Braun

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The race between incumbent Democrat Joe Donnelly and challenger Republican Mike Braun is one race sure to get more and more national attention as we move closer and closer to November.

Why? Well, Donnelly’s seat is an easy target for Republicans. Indiana is a fairly red state and went overwhelmingly for Trump. Democrat Donnelly has cast some votes that are going to hurt him with Hoosiers for sure.

Either way, look for both parties and many, many PACS to become heavily invested in this race.  In addition to commercials and money, another common way to swing voters are endorsements. And Mike Braun just got what is likely the biggest endorsement thus far in the race for Indiana’s senate seat.

Lou Holtz, former Notre Dame football coach, wrote a column in which he provided his ringing endorsement of Braun.

In part, Holtz writes:

I trust Mike Braun to go to Washington and represent what is in the best interest of the people of Indiana and continue being guided by the philosophies that have been so successful for him as a state senator.

He goes on to say:

Mike is an individual who knows how to win and that you do this by helping other people get what they want.

 

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Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly meets with Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh

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Indiana Democratic Senator Joe Donnelly met with Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh Wednesday.

Kavanaugh was nominated by President Trump to fill the seat being vacated by retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. If confirmed, this will be President Trump’s second appointment to the highest court in the land.

However, while the Republicans do hold a slim 51-49 majority in the Senate, Trump and the Republicans will likely need a few Democrat votes here and there in order to confirm Kavanaugh.

Why? Well, no one is quite sure what the health of Arizona Sen. John McCain will be like at the time of the vote and Sens. Olympia Snowe of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska are wildcards, who may or may not vote for Trump’s man.  So, enter blue-dog Democrats.

Sen. Donnelly is an extremely conservative Democrat when compared to the likes of his fellow party members Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren. Also, add to the mix the Donnelly is currently in a tough re-election campaign against Republican Mike Braun in Indiana, a state that went overwhelmingly for Trump just a little less than two years ago.

He’s the perfect kind of Democrat to vote for Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, right?

Well, not so fast.

Apparently, Donnelly is still undecided according to the statement put out by his office.

But let’s be honest, Donnelly is a tough position when it comes to his vote for Kavanaugh.

He doesn’t vote for Kavanaugh, pleases Schumer and the rest of Democratic party leadership, but angers Hoosiers and independents, soft Republicans that would’ve voted for him in November. He votes to confirm Kavanuagh, angers Schumer and his Democratic buddies in D.C. and Democrats back home in Indiana.

Let’s remember Donnelly voted to confirm Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s first appointee to the Supreme Court nominee.

My guess: He votes for Kavanaugh and hopes it doesn’t hurt him too badly with Democrats right before his re-election chances.

Pompeo confirmed as secretary of state

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President Donald Trump officially has a new secretary of state.  CIA Director Mike Pompeo was confirmed Thursday with a 57-42 vote in the Senate.

A number of Democrats even voted to confirm Pompeo, including Indiana’s own, Joe Donnelly. One could easily come to the conclusion that this was a vote to help him in his November reelection effort in red state Indiana, where Trump continues to be popular.

All Republicans voted to confirm except Arizona Senator John McCain, who abstained.

Pompeo replaces former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who Trump fired in March. Tillerson apparently learned of his dismissal on Twitter.

Likely, one of the first things Pompeo is likely to do in his new position, if he’s not already doing so, is to follow @RealDonaldTrump on Twitter and check it often.

 

Joe Donnelly releases first campaign ad

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Indiana’s May primary is two weeks from today. However, while Republicans Luke Messer, Mike Braun and Todd Rokita are locked in a contentious race, not all candidates will be sweating it out the next 14 days.

Democrat Joe Donnelly, who has no primary challenger, is one of those candidates who has nothing to worry about – at least now, anyway. Despite this fact, that doesn’t mean Donnelly can’t get a jump of the general election.  In fact, the Donnelly campaign has been sending out campaign emails, mainly those seeking money, like crazy.  Now, the campaign has decided to release their first campaign ad.

It’s an extremely positive, get to know you ad. In an attempt to bring up memories of Mitch Daniels, Donnelly rides along in an RV. He proceeds to talk about cutting regulation, helping service members and “being the second most bipartisan senator.” Oh, he also mentions that he doesn’t work for either political party, but instead for the voters.

Anyway, Donnelly is sure to be locked in a very tight, contentious race, but he starts things off on a positive note.

BREAKING: Trump-Pence Leadership Team Endorses Indiana Senate Candidate Todd Rokita

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This endorsement is sure to make the Indiana GOP Primary even more interesting.

Rex Early, from Trump’s 2016 general election campaign in Indiana endorsed US Senate hopeful Todd Rokita a few minutes ago. Stating that Rokita “wholeheartedly” supported Trump, Early criticized fellow candidates Luke Messer and Mike Braun for not doing enough in 2016 to support Trump’s campaign.

Indiana voters will decide on their GOP candidate May 8th and that person will go on to face incumbent Joe Donnelly this fall in the general election.

Instead of issues, Rokita campaign sets up anti-Messer website…because?

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Indiana’s primary is set for May 8 and easily, the biggest race to be decided will the Republican U.S. Senate Primary.

Sitting Indiana Congressmen Todd Rokita and Luke Messer as well as businessman Mike Braun are all vying to become the Republican to take on Democrat Joe Donnelly in the fall.

So, far the race has been about who can tie themselves to Trump the most, as all three have emphatically said they are wholeheartedly “Pro-Trump” on multiple occasions. That’s fine and dandy, but voters want to hear original ideas. What are your solutions to problems? Why are you the best Republican to take on Donnelly? You know, talk about the issues.

Well, instead of talking about anything really substantive, the Rokita campaign found it necessary to set up a website dedicated entirely to “finding Luke Messer.” 

The site is in reference to Messer having a residence in Virginia and not keeping a house in Indiana, selling it in 2012 when elected to Congress. In addition to this coming out early in the campaign, Messer has since been reelected to Congress multiple times. Doesn’t really sound like his constituents have a problem with it, but it didn’t stop the Rokita campaign from throwing something at the wall and hope it sticks.

The website also says “Last seen in the Swamp,” referring to Messer with a form to fill out in order to get updates on “his whereabouts.”

It’s also funny coming from a guy who uses public money to fund his campaigns, when he screams about draining the swamp and whose slogan is “Defeat the Elite.” Oh, there’s also the multi-page dossier that came out this past summer which states everything Rokita “requires” and how he is to be treated when being driven around his district.

It’s because of that kind of stuff that people don’t like politics and politicians. Instead of talking about real substantive differences between the candidates, campaigns and candidates stoop to this level of nonsense.

Hey Todd,  if you want to talk about a candidate’s “whereabouts,” please let voters know where you’ll be instead of the statewide televised Republican debate on April 30.

Please, please get back to the real issues. Voters deserve it.

-BZ

Rokita to skip televised Republican primary debate due to ‘leftist propaganda’

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“Then I’m just gonna take my ball and go home!”  That’s basically the attitude of the Rokita campaign.

In the political world, name recognition and ID are invaluable to candidates running for office. Before someone officially announces a run for office, especially a statewide office, that’s usually one of the first things discussed by a potential candidate and/or campaign. Because if people don’t know who you are, they aren’t likely to vote for you come Election Day.

Raising a candidate’s name ID is the main reason why campaigns spend so much money on television/radio ads. Well, that and attempting to differentiate yourself from your opponents.

Debates among the candidates is an excellent and free opportunity to achieve both of those goals simultaneously, especially when that debate is going to be televised across the state.  That’s why a recently announced decision from the Todd Rokita campaign is so utterly mystifying.

The campaign announced Friday that they will not participate in a statewide televised debate on April 30. And what rationale did the campaign give for their decision to skip the debate?

Well, apparently they have other things planned that day, citing scheduling conflicts. Oh, and they also don’t want to deal with “leftist propaganda” and “gotcha questions from liberal media figures, liberal college professors, or other parties interested in attacking Republicans and re-electing Joe Donnelly.”  

Um…ok? Except for the fact that the debate is being organized by the nonpartisan Indiana Debate Commission and it’s being moderate dby Indy Politics reporter and WIBC radio host Abdul-Hakim Shabazz. Sure, he may not be as conservative as Tony Katz ( the moderator of the first Republican Senate debate in January) but Abdul is anything but a liberal. I mean, the conservative WIBC doesn’t usually give shows to liberals.

Anyway, the Rokita campaign says “He (Rokita)  looks forward to sharing his message with as many Hoosier conservatives as possible between now and election day.”

That statement kind of rings hollow given Friday’s mystifyingly dumb decision to skip an April 30 debate, especially considering Election Day is May 8.

Oh well, more time for Messer and Braun to shine.

-BZ

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