Candidates for Indiana’s open Senate seat barely mentioned either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton during their Tuesday night debate.
Republican Rep. Todd Young, running to replace retiring GOP Sen. Dan Coats, attacked Indiana’s former Democrat Sen. Evan Bayh for his consulting work in Washington, D.C., and his lack of connection to Hoosier voters. He also sought to leverage his military service to his advantage.
“We need more common sense Hoosier conservatism in Washington, D.C.,” Young said. “We need more Indiana in Washington and less Washington in Indiana.”
“I know everyone’s tired of career politicians; you may just want to clean house. Some of you may think I just want to send in the Marines,” he said. “Well, you can send in one. Let’s together put people before politics.”
Bayh, the late Democrat entrant into the race, fashioned himself a centrist Democrat and did not seek to tie Young to Trump.
When it came to Clinton, Bayh twice mentioned his disagreements with the Democratic nominee on the estate tax and energy policy. He claimed that he supports repealing the “death tax,” which the Young campaign disputed by pointing to his congressional record on the estate tax. Bayh also expressed his disagreement with Clinton on Cap and Trade and the Clean Power Plan.
Indiana could become a crucial state in determining the balance of power in the Senate and a crucial factor in the outcome of the 2016 presidential race. The state’s governor, Mike Pence, is running as the GOP vice presidential nominee alongside Trump.
