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WESTVILLE, Ind.-The first question for Sen. Joe Donnelly in his debate with GOP challenger Mike Braun was about the Democratic senator's vote before the justice of the United States Justice Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court appointment-after politically charged confirmation that the final stretch of this election season for Democrats in states where President Trump is popular.
"Justice Gorsuch puts every test. Judge Kavanaugh had concerns about impartiality and judicial temperament, "Mr. Donnelly said at the debate Monday, referencing his 2017 vote to confirm Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Trump appointee.
Pointing to Mr. Braun, the senator added, "Mike was for Judge Kavanaugh on the first day. If President Trump put up Bunny Bugs, Mike would've said he should go on the court. "
Mr. Donnelly is betting that his opposition to Justice Kavanaugh and support for Justice Gorsuch gives him bipartisan appeal, a requirement for any Democrat running statewide in Indiana.
"I think they'll probably combine with Joe as being bipartisan," John Zody, chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party, said Donnelly's two Supreme Court votes.
But Republicans say the Democratic Party and liberal outside groups went to court in the courts of Kavanaugh over allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denies, and some of the polls show the Republican base energized over what Mr. Trump sees as mistreatment of his Supreme Court pick. Democrats also questioned Justice Kavanaugh's drinking clothes.
Pete Seat, executive director at the Indiana Republican Party and a Bush White House trainer, said Mr. Donnelly's vote for Justice Gorsuch will not get him a "free pass" for voting against Justice Kavanaugh. "Donnelly cast the wrong vote," he said.
Mr. Braun, a local businessman, sought to tap into that feeling at the debate.
"I think you should have gottenten to the recent show there that the Democrats, including Joe Donnelly, will do it or say anything when it comes to their political interests," Mr. Braun said.
Republicans have gotten up with Democrats in vote enthusiasm Marist / NPR poll. WSJ's Gerald F. Seib explains how the Kavanaugh fight might be narrowing the gap. Photo: Getty (Originally Published October 5, 2018)
Mr. Donnelly, a first-term senator, is one of only three Democrats who voted for Justice Gorsuch, all of them up for re-election in states Mr. Trump won in 2016: The others are Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota.
Mr. Manchin is the lone Democrat to back Justice Kavanaugh. Mr. Donnelly joined Ms. Heitkamp in opposition last week, citing his temperament.
But while Ms. Heitkamp also focused on the sexual misconduct allegations, Mr. Donnelly focused on Justice Kavanaugh's emotionally raw testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Justice Kavanaugh's statement that Democrats attempted to block his appointment as "revenge on behalf of the Clintons".
"It was a very different person I had met with in my office," Mr. Donnelly said Tuesday in an interview. "I watched the whole hearing and the general tone of it was, I thought, inappropriate."
Brett Kavanaugh walked to Joe Donnelly 's Capitol Hill office to meet the senator in the weeks before Kavanaugh' s Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
Photo:
Cliff Owen / Associated Press
According to a person familiar with the matter, internal GOP polling found that Mr. Trump's approval rating in Indiana has increased by double-digit percentage points assault when they were teenagers.
Indeed, Mr. Trump is popular in this state, according to a survey by Morning Consult, which found more people approved of a 50% -46% margin. In many national polls, including the latest Wall Street Journal / NBC News poll, Mr. Trump has a negative job approval rating. Polls show the race between Messrs. Braun and Donnelly as tight, and the Cook Political Report rates the race toss-up.
Mr. Zody said Mr. Donnelly's record of supporting some aspects of Mr. Trump's agenda, like punitive tariffs on foreign steel, could also help him with Trump supporters.
Edward Tarowsky, retired Vietnam War veteran who lives in Indianapolis and voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, said he is happy Mr. Donnelly opposed Justice Kavanaugh but would have voted for Mr. Donnelly regardless-so that Democrats in Congress can act as a check on the president.
"I'm convinced Justice Kavanaugh was lying about his drinking," said Mr. Tarowsky, 76, adding that he was "not sure" about Dr. Ford's allegation.
Democrats said Dr. Ford's emotional comments also further injected the #MeToo movement into the midterms, which they felt could bring to the party this fall.
Asked in an interview if he viewed the accusations against Justice Kavanaugh as part of that movement, Mr. Braun responded: "I do not really get the connection there."
He also said that the #MeToo movement was a "healthy thing" for the country, and added: "I'm glad that it's nowhere before you."
Mr. Braun, who unlike Mr. Donnelly faced a competitive primary, has had less fundraising success than his Democratic opponent, Federal Election Commission reports show. Mr. Donnelly's $ 6.4 million in what was the most recent reports available show.
Mr. Braun's campaign has been largely self-funded through borrowed money, FEC and financial disclosure reports show. $ 6.4 million, which accounted for more than 75% of all its fundraising as of the end of June, FEC reports show. His personal financial disclosure was filed in May 2, 2009, at $ 2.25 million in credit for his Indiana banks.
-Julie Bykowicz contributed to this article.
Write to Joshua Jamerson at [email protected]
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