Within moments of the U.S. Senate voting 50-48 to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, Indiana Republicans and Democrats wasted no time launching political attacks.
U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly was a “no” vote on Kavanaugh, while Todd Young was a “yes”.
State GOP Chairman Kyle Hupfer issued the following statement…
“Today, Democrat obstruction came to a screeching halt. The resistance efforts of Joe Donnelly and his Democrat pals failed. Judge Brett Kavanaugh will be a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, and it’s no thanks to Democrat Joe Donnelly. Democrat Donnelly had two chances to cast the right vote – and both times he chose to side with his Democrat Party bosses rather than with the Hoosiers who elected him to represent us in the United States Senate. These votes were an unforgivable betrayal of his constituents, and prove yet again that Democrat Donnelly puts politics first, second and third. As we have seen with his votes against tax reform, for Obamacare, and support of the flawed Iran nuclear deal, Democrat Joe Donnelly is part of the problem in Washington. He has shown us time and time again that he doesn’t work for us; he works for his Democrat bosses who want to stall President Donald J. Trump’s agenda and reverse our nation’s progress. President Trump should be applauded for making an outstanding pick in nominating Judge Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, as should the Republicans who stood up in the face of Democrat obstruction to confirm this highly-qualified and well-respected nominee. Thanks to them, we will all benefit from having Judge Kavanaugh’s sharp legal mind on the bench for decades to come. While Democrat Joe Donnelly may have done what Chuck Schumer wanted him to do today, Hoosiers will do what we have to do in November: send Democrat Donnelly packing.”
Meanwhile, Democrats issued this statement in a fundraising e-mail following the confirmation vote…
“Joe’s opponent, Republican Rep. Mike Braun, has called Dr. Ford’s accusation of sexual assault an “orchestration of Chuck Schumer. Rep. Braun has pledged to be a copy machine for all of Donald Trump’s most extreme policies — and to confirm every nominee like Kavanaugh, no questions asked. Hoosiers deserve better. But the truth is this race is a toss-up, and if Joe doesn’t have the resources to counter the attacks and get his positive message out across our state, he could lose. And if Joe loses, it’s next to impossible for Democrats to take back the Senate and stop Trump’s extreme nominees in the future.”
The most recent poll of the U.S. Senate race (Fox News) showed Donnelly’s vote on Kavanaugh would basically be awash with voters with 30 percent saying it would make them more likely to vote for the Democrat, 32 percent said it was less likely and 34 percent saying it would make no difference.
