Indiana Senate race: Joe Donnelly criticizes 'radical left' in unlikely ad for Democrat

Kaitlin Lange | IndyStar

Show Caption Hide Caption Indiana Senate race: Takeaways from the first debate Sen. Joe Donnelly, Republican Mike Braun and Libertarian Lucy Brenton debate Oct. 8 in the race for an Indiana U.S. Senate seat.

Sen. Joe Donnelly's latest ad is raising a few eyebrows among his Democratic base.

He criticizes "socialists" for wanting government-run healthcare and "the radical left" for seeking to abolish I.C.E. — both concepts not commonplace in Democrat ads.

"Over my dead body," Donnelly says.

And he closes with a nod to former Republican President Ronald Reagan.

"As President Reagan said, 'peace through strength,'" Donnelly says in the video, referencing his belief for increased military spending.

He also mentions his support for funding President Donald Trump's border wall.

Several people identified as Democrats on social media took issue with the ad. One said the ad showed Donnelly was taking his base for granted.

Others, however, said the ad represents what it means to be a statewide Democratic candidate in red state such as Indiana these days.

Andy Downs, a political scientist at Purdue University Fort Wayne, said it's not all that unusual for moderate Democrats such as Donnelly to criticize left-leaning individuals.

"What's different here is actually having a commercial that does it," Downs said.

Donnelly is widely considered to be among the nation's most vulnerable Democratic senators, locked in a tight race against Republican businessman Mike Braun.

Donnelly has consistently portrayed himself as a moderate senator who voted with Trump 62 percent of the time in 2017. And he's emphasized his support for Trump's border wall in previous ads.

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Earlier this year, Donnelly launched a Republicans for Joe group. But this is the first ad that shows Donnelly attacking the "radical left."

In order to win today statewide in Indiana, Downs said, Democrats need to be moderate. And Donnelly's stances on I.C.E. and healthcare would be fairly popular in Indiana, Downs said.

"(The commercial) clearly alienates part of his base, but it must mean there is a much larger bloc of voters who could be persuaded to vote for a moderate Democrat," Downs said.

Donnelly's new ad also comes just two days before self-described democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders is scheduled to visit Bloomington to rally for Democratic ninth district candidate Liz Watson.

Downs said it makes sense for Donnelly to distance himself from issues that Sanders stands for.

During his ad, Donnelly also throws a jab at those on the far-right and far-left, who he says want to cut military spending.

Josh Kelley, spokesman for Braun's campaign, criticized Donnelly's ad, calling him a liar.

Kelley said Donnelly has “stood with the radical left to smear Justice Kavanaugh, he supports socialized healthcare through Obamacare, his campaign is funded by Democrat Senators who have vowed to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and stole Ronald Reagan’s ‘peace through strength’ motto despite supporting Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran."

Will Baskin-Gerwitz, a spokesman for Donnelly's campaign, defended the ad

"Joe Donnelly works for Hoosiers, not any politician or political party, and he'll stand up to extremists on either side who want to harm Indiana," Baskiin-Gerwitz said.

"While Rep. Braun has sided with partisan extremists who want to cut defense spending, oppose a pay raise for our service members, and deny health care coverage to those with pre-existing conditions, Joe has listened to the concerns of Hoosiers from across the political spectrum and fought for them in Washington."

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

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