The 2018 United States Senate election in Indiana took place on November 6, 2018, along with other elections to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

and

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator

Joe Donnelly Joseph Simon Donnelly Sr. (born September 29, 1955) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a United States senator from Indiana from 2013 to 2019. Since 2022, he has served as the United States Ambassador to the Holy Se ...

sought reelection to a second term, facing Republican businessman and former state representative

Mike Braun Michael Kent Braun (; born March 24, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Indiana since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously represented the 63rd district in the India ...

and

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...

nominee Lucy Brenton. In 2017, ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

'' described the race as "possibly the GOP's best opportunity to seize a Senate seat from Democrats" in the 2018 elections. The primary election was held on May 8, 2018. In October 2018,

RealClearPolitics RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator formed in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. The site features selected political ...

rated the race a toss-up between the Democratic and Republican nominees, with the Libertarian receiving a poll average of 6%. Braun defeated Donnelly in the general election by a margin of 6 percent.

Background

In 2012,

was elected to the Senate with 50% of the vote to Republican nominee

Richard Mourdock Richard Earl Mourdock (born October 8, 1951) is an American politician who served as treasurer of the state of Indiana from 2007 to 2014. Running with the support of the Tea Party movement, he defeated six-term incumbent U.S. Senator Richard Lu ...

's 44%. In the 2016 presidential election, Republican nominee

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

won

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

with about 56.5% of the vote to Democratic nominee

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

's 37.5%.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

, incumbent U.S. Senator

Withdrew

* Martin Del Rio, Iraq War veteran

Endorsements

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

, businessman and former state representative

Eliminated in the primary election

Luke Messer Allen Lucas Messer (born February 27, 1969) is an American politician and lobbyist who represented Indiana's 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party. Born ...

, U.S. Representative *

Todd Rokita Theodore Edward Rokita (born February 9, 1970) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 44th and current Attorney General of Indiana. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from from 2011 to 2019. A membe ...

, U.S. Representative

Declined

* Jim Banks, U.S. Representative *

Susan Brooks Susan Lynn Brooks (née Wiant; born August 25, 1960) is an American prosecutor and politician. She is a Republican Party (United States), Republican and the former United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative for . She was elected ...

, U.S. Representative (endorsed Luke Messer) *

Mike Delph Michael A. Delph (born January 12, 1970) is a former Republican member of the Indiana State Senate representing the 29th district from 2005 to 2018. He is considered to be a "socially conservative Republican," who has courted support from the Te ...

, state senator (endorsed Todd Rokita) *

Jackie Walorski Jacqueline Renae Walorski (, August 17, 1963 – August 3, 2022) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Indiana's 2nd congressional district from 2013 until her death in 2022. She was a member of the Republican Pa ...

, U.S. Representative

Withdrawn

* Terry Henderson, businessman (endorsed Mike Braun) * Andy Horning, Libertarian nominee for the U.S. Senate in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and Libertarian nominee for

IN-08 Indiana's 8th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Indiana. Based in southwest and west central Indiana, the district is anchored in Evansville and also includes Jasper, Princeton, Terre Haute, Vincennes and ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

* Mark Hurt, attorney and former

congressional aide A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ad ...

* Andrew Takami, director of Purdue Polytechnic New Albany (endorsed Luke Messer)

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Independent

Candidates

Declared

* James Johnson, Jr.

General election

Candidates

, businessman and former state representative (R) * Lucy Brenton (L) *

, incumbent (D) * James Johnson, Jr. (I)

Debates

Complete video of debate
October 8, 2018

Predictions

Fundraising

Endorsements

Polling

;Graphical summary ;with Todd Rokita ;with Luke Messer ;with generic Republican

Results

On November 6, 2018, Braun won the general election. He swept southern Indiana, the exurbs of Indianapolis, and most other rural areas in the state. Donnelly ran well behind his 2012 vote totals, winning only in Indianapolis, the university centers (Bloomington, Terre Haute, West Lafayette, South Bend), and the suburbs of Chicago in Northwest Indiana.

By congressional district

Braun won 6 of 9 congressional districts.

Voter Demographics

Notes

References

External links

Candidates
at

Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in si ...

Candidates
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

Campaign finance
at FEC
Campaign finance
at

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...

GOP Primary Debate
February 20, 2018 ;Official campaign websites
Mike Braun (R) for SenateLucy Brenton (L) for SenateJoe Donnelly (D) for Senate
{{2018 United States elections

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