President Donald Trump praised Indiana Republican senatorial candidate Mike Braun for his successful businesses Thursday, ahead what is expected to be a packed Make America Great Again rally tonight in Evansville.
“Will be going to Evansville, Indiana, tonight for a big crowd rally with Mike Braun, a very successful businessman who is campaigning to be Indiana’s next U.S. Senator,” Trump said in a tweet. “He is strong on Crime & Borders, the 2nd Amendment, and loves our Military & Vets. Will be a big night!”
Braun said in an email to supporters about the rally that he has been a proud supporter of the president from day one. Trump will arrive in the state a few hours before the rally to attend a roundtable discussion he is hosting with supporters.
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Braun is founder and president of Meyer Distributing and owner of Meyer Logistics. Meyer Distributing engages in the marketing and distribution of automotive specialty products, while Meyer Logistics is a warehouse and distribution service.
Braun is making his background as a successful businessman a major focus of his campaign against Donnelly. Braun claims his business experience will give him an advantage in dealing with health care costs, crumbling infrastructure, and the chronically growing national debt.
He also hopes to disrupt the political class, which he sees as becoming stagnant and unwilling to address real problems. Trump ran on a very similar message during his presidential run.
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The Indiana election has attracted national attention with the chance the seat could flip because Trump carried the state by 19 points 2016 against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Braun argues that Washington isn’t getting enough accomplished and there is too little accountability in the federal government. He describes Donnelly as being part of the Washington problem, not its solution.
The Braun-Donnelly contest is extremely close, with ScottRasmussen.com putting it at a toss-up, with 52 percent turnout in favor of Democrats. The Cook Political Report also has the race as a toss-up.
Donnelly was elected to the Senate in 2012 after serving three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Braun was a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from 2014 till retiring to focus on his Senate campaign in 2017. Indiana voters will get a chance to choose between the two during the election on November 6.
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