Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana is throwing his fundraising weight behind newly minted Senate nominee Mike Braun, moving quickly to ensure the fellow Indiana Republican wins against Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly in November.
Cam Savage, Young’s general consultant and a senior adviser, told the Washington Examiner on Thursday that helping Braun raise money is the “first priority.” A meeting with Young’s Washington-based steering committee, essentially the senator’s committed group of D.C. donors, is being arranged for Braun to coincide with a scheduled trip to the nation’s capital next week.
Young is giving Braun access to his network of campaign contributors, with an emphasis on helping the outsider candidate collect cash in Indiana. And Young’s team is preparing to handle all of Braun’s Washington fundraising, including from political action committees managed by Republican members of Congress, and from those run by advocacy groups. Two PAC fundraisers for Braun have already been scheduled, and a third is in the planning stages.
Young has a solid team of effective Indiana operatives behind him, and ran a strong campaign in 2016, coming from behind to defeat former Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh.
Braun on Tuesday defeated two established Republicans, Reps. Luke Messer and Todd Rokita, in the Republican primary. Braun is a wealthy businessman who served a brief stint in the state legislature and is not an entrenched politician with deep ties to GOP officials. Top Republicans are moving swiftly to remedy that, looking to capitalize on Donnelly’s political vulnerability.
Help is on the way from President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, a former governor and congressman from Indiana. On Thursday, Trump and Pence were headed to Indiana to hold one of the president’s signature campaign rallies and boost Braun’s candidacy.
On May 18, Pence is scheduled to headline a fundraiser for Braun in Indianapolis. The event is a joint fundraiser for Braun, along with the presumptive Republican Senate nominee in Missouri, state Attorney General Josh Hawley, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
“Looking forward to hitting the campaign trail for my friend @braun4indiana! I’ll be in Indiana tomorrow with @realDonaldTrump and again the following week. Mike is a committed conservative who will make Hoosiers proud. #BackBraun,” Pence tweeted.
