URL https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-indiana/indiana-senate-debate-comes-at-opportune-time-for-republicans-idUSKCN1MI1RX

DATE/ AUTHOR 2018-10-09 20:43:06+00:00	AUTHORS: James Oliphant, Min Read

H Kavanaugh fight at center of Indiana Senate debate

S1 (Reuters) - The bitter fight over the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh spilled over into a key U.S. Senate race in Indiana on Monday, as the Republican challenger, Mike Braun squared off against Joe Donnelly, the Democratic incumbent.

S2 Braun, a businessman, hammered Donnelly over his opposition to President Donald Trump’s latest nomination to the top court, seeking momentum in a race that polls show to be tight a month before Nov. 6 elections that will determine control of Congress.

S3 Democrats need to gain a net total of two seats to win control of the Senate, which will require defending seats in several states that voted for Trump in 2016, including Indiana.
S4 Control of the Senate would allow them to block moves by Trump, including Supreme Court nominees.

S5 Reuters Interactive Can Democrats regain control of the House?

S6 Donnelly, who is seeking a second Senate term, has been a top target of Republicans in a state Trump won by almost 20 percentage points two years ago.

S7 “I voted against Judge Kavanaugh because of concerns about his impartiality and concerns about his judicial temperament,” Donnelly said early in the first debate between the candidates, held in Westville, Indiana, a small town in the northwest corner of the state.

S8 Kavanaugh was accused by California university professor Christine Blasey Ford of sexual assaulting her when they were high school students in 1982.
S9 He mounted a passionate defense of his innocence in the Senate and was confirmed by 50-48 in a near-party-line vote on Saturday.

S10 Braun’s campaign has pointed to Donnelly’s “no” vote as a lack of support for the Republican president’s agenda.
S11 On Monday, Braun charged that Donnelly was unwilling to buck his party in opposing Kavanaugh.

S12 “Democrats including Joe Donnelly will do or say anything when it comes to their political interests,” Braun said.
S13 “It is a blood sport.”

S14 Republicans believe the fight over Kavanaugh has engaged conservative voters who otherwise have not been paying attention to the elections and may make a difference in several close Senate races.

S15 L-R: Libertarian Lucy Brenton, Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly and Republican former state Rep. Mike Braun, participate in a U.S. Senate Debate, in Westville, Indiana, U.S., October 8, 2018.
S16 Darron Cummings/Pool via REUTERS

S17 WORKING WITH TRUMP

S18 Donnelly has emphasized his ability to work with Trump, and he did so again on Monday, saying he had supported the president’s agenda the majority of the time.

S19 Last year, Donnelly voted to confirm Trump’s first Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch.
S20 He said his vote against Kavanaugh showed independent judgment.

S21 Read more: Indiana Democrat touts support of Trump in bid to keep seat

S22 “Mike was for Judge Kavanaugh on the first day.
S23 If President Trump put up Bugs Bunny, Mike would have said he should go on the court,” Donnelly said.
S24 “My job is to protect the court and to put people on who are qualified.”

S25 Braun, who served for three years in the Indiana legislature, repeatedly stressed his Trumpian “outsider” credentials.
S26 He criticized Donnelly for failing to support tax overhaul legislation that passed Congress last year and for supporting the Iran nuclear deal crafted by the Obama administration, which Trump has abandoned.

S27 Donnelly accused Braun of not supporting insurance coverage for pre-existing healthcare conditions in the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, an attack line that has been a staple of Democratic campaigns.

S28 Braun pledged during the debate that he would never support a replacement for Obamacare “unless it covered pre-existing conditions.”

S29 A Democrat in a Republican-heavy state, Donnelly has shown staying power, with polls largely showing him keeping a slight edge over Braun and Libertarian candidate Lucy Benton, who also participated in Monday’s debate.

S30 Slideshow (5 Images)

S31 He supported steel and aluminum tariffs the administration placed on imports this year, saying they benefited Indiana industries.

S32 Donnelly has criticized other tariffs that have hurt the state’s farmers and contended they had gone too far in spurring retaliation by China.
S33 The Indiana Chamber of Commerce, which has long backed Republicans, declined in the summer to endorse anyone in the Senate race, showing the potency of the tariff issue.

