Businessman Mike Braun decisively won the Indiana Senate Republican primary on Tuesday night.
Mike Braun handily defeated Reps. Todd Rokita (R-IN) and Luke Messer (R-IN) on Tuesday. Braun will face off against incumbent Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-IN) in the 2018 Indiana general Senate election.
Braun said in a statement on Tuesday night, “Tonight, Hoosiers spoke loud and clear – they want a conservative outsider representing them in the U.S. Senate and I am grateful to have their support.”
Braun added, “From the beginning, our message has been pretty simple – we need more outsiders and less career politicians in Washington. More folks that have done something in the real world.”
National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Chris Hansen applauded Braun’s victory in Indiana’s GOP primary.
“Congratulations to Mike Braun on his win in tonight’s primary,” said NRSC Executive Director Chris Hansen. “Mike’s success in creating jobs for Hoosiers as a business owner is a stark contrast to Joe Donnelly’s history of shipping jobs to Mexico, and his record will ensure his success in the general election.”
Braun spent millions on ads during the GOP primary, arguing that he is the true conservative outsider. The Indiana businessman has cast his opponents, Reps. Messer and Rokita, as “swamp creatures” who have long careers as politicians.
Braun was elected to the Indiana State House in 2014.
Braun promised to continue his campaign against Sen. Donnelly, channeling President Donald Trump’s anti-establishment and populist rhetoric.
“This fall, we’re going to send a message to Senator Donnelly and the rest of Washington that politics shouldn’t be a career and if we want to change things we need to change the people we send there,” Braun explained.
“I’m going there to get the job done and come back home, and the only people I’ll owe anything to is the voters of Indiana,” Braun concluded.