A pair of polls released Wednesday evening show Democrat incumbent Sen. Joe Donnelly taking a slim lead over Republican candidate Mike Braun in the tightly contested race for U.S. Senate.

In a Fox News poll of 722 likely voters, 45 percent of Hoosiers said they plan to vote for Donnelly, 38 percent Braun and 5 percent for Libertarian Lucy Brenton. An additional 9 percent say they don't know.

This Fox poll is one of the first to give either candidate a lead that extends beyond the margin or error. For this poll, the margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

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An NBC News/Marist poll released Wednesday also shows Donnelly with a narrow edge, but well within the margin of error of 5.5 percentage points.That poll of 496 likely voters shows 45 percent would vote for Donnelly, 42 percent would vote for Braun and 7 percent would vote for Brenton.

The two polls are a positive sign for Donnelly. Prior to their release, the most recent polls showed Braun with a slight edge over Donnelly, but still within the margin of error.

The tight race between Braun and Donnelly is one of the most closely watched in the nation because it is among a handful of pivotal contests that could determine which party wins control of the Senate.

The Fox News poll also shows that Donnelly has the support of 14 percent of Turmp voters — a sign that some of his pro-Trump agenda messaging may be working.

Both polls were taken prior to the Tuesday night Senate debate, where Donnelly made an awkward and cringeworthy word choice when describing his commitment to diversity.

Call IndyStar reporter Kaitlin Lange at 317-432-9270. Follow her on Twitter: @kaitlin_lange.