Sen. Joe Donnelly has to crash and burn this November. It’s inevitable — or at least that’s what Republicans keep telling themselves.
The Indiana Democrat consistently ranks as one of the most vulnerable incumbents, and the Right has pinned their hopes of maintaining, and even building, their Senate majority on an imploding Donnelly. But a new ad shows that the senator isn’t about to drive over a cliff anytime soon.
“People often ask me, hey Joe — how do you navigate that mess in Washington?” Donnelly says from behind the wheel of a big RV during his first television ad. “You’ve got to be willing to drive down the Hoosier common-sense middle.”
In a nod to the sort of populism that helped Trump carry the Hoosier State by double digits, Donnelly touts his votes for deregulation, his opposition to underwriting American debt with Chinese dollars, and his support for military veterans. It’s basic, if not homespun, political messaging.
But it is also on message. Donnelly knows that whoever ends up being his challenger will try to draft behind Trump and attack him as a radical liberal. So the Democrat is veering through partisan traffic and driving on the median. If Donnelly is going to avoid a wreck, he has to hug the middle.
“I’m ranked the second-most bipartisan Senator,” he concludes, “because I don’t work for any political party; I’m the hired help — I’m hired by you, I work for you.” It’s exactly what Donnelly has said throughout his 12-year career, first in the House and then the Senate. With some skill and also some luck, it might be enough to avoid a pileup in 2018.
