Republican Mike Braun says the momentum is on his side in his effort to unseat Sen. Joe Donnelly (D., Ind.), who has scrambled to distance himself from his party in the race's closing weeks.

Braun, an Indiana businessman who has spent the last few years in the state legislature, was lagging behind his incumbent opponent for much of the summer but has now pulled aheadin recent polls. Braun says he knew his numbers would grow as the race progressed toward Election Day, a confidence based on his experience in the Republican primary.

"We started about as low as you can in the primary, I think I started off with 2 percent of the vote," Braun said in an interview with the Free Beacon. "I ended up with 41 percent, against two strong conservative congressmen."

"I feel good about where we are," he said. "We've been building name recognition and getting our message out, and that momentum is going to carry forward."

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