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Former state Rep. Mike Braun (R) defeated U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly (D) and business consultant Lucy Brenton (L) in the general election on November 6, 2018, to represent Indiana in the United States Senate.
Thirty-five of the 100 seats in the United States Senate were up for election in 2018, including two seats up for special election. Republicans gained four previously Democratic-held seats and Democrats gained two previously Republican-held seats, resulting in a net gain of two seats for the Republican Party and a 53-seat majority in the chamber. This race was identified as a 2018 battleground that might have affected partisan control of the chamber in the 116th Congress. At the time of the election, Republicans held a 51-seat Senate majority. Democrats held 47 seats, and the two independents caucused with them. Democrats faced greater partisan risk in 2018, as they were defending 26 seats while Republicans were only defending nine. Democrats had to defend seats in 10 states Donald Trump (R) won. The GOP defended one Senate seat in a state Hillary Clinton (D) won.
Trump won Indiana by 19 points in the 2016 presidential election. The last Democratic presidential candidate to win Indiana was Barack Obama in 2008. Donnelly was first elected in 2012, defeating State Auditor Richard Mourdock (R) by 5.7 percentage points. Prior to his win, Republicans had won every U.S. Senate election in the state since 2004. In the 2016 Senate race, U.S. Rep. Todd Young (R) defeated former U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh (D) by 9.7 percentage points for the seat held by retiring incumbent Dan Coats (R).
U.S. Senate election in Indiana, Donnelly vs. Braun
| Poll | Poll sponsor |  Donnelly |
 Braun | Undecided/Other | Margin of error | Sample size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) October 27-30, 2018 | Fox News | 45% | 38% | 17% | +/-3.5 | 722 |
| Marist University October 24-28, 2018 | NBC News | 45% | 42% | 13% | +/-5.5 | 496 |
| Cygnal October 26-27, 2018 | N/A | 46% | 49% | 5% | +/-4.36 | 505 |
| YouGov October 23-26, 2018 | CBS News | 43% | 46% | 11% | +/-3.7 | 975 |
| Mason Strategies October 15-20, 2018 | IndyPolitics.org | 43% | 47% | 10% | +/-3.9 | 600 |
| American Viewpoint October 14-17, 2018 | Braun campaign | 40% | 44% | 16% | +/-3.0 | 800 |
| SurveyUSA October 12-16, 2018 | Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics | 41% | 40% | 19% | +/-4.6 | 1,400 |
| Vox Populi (Republican vs. Democrat only, no undecided option) October 13-15, 2018 | N/A | 44% | 38% | 0% | +/-3.5 | 783 |
| Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) September 29-October 2, 2018 | Fox News | 43% | 41% | 16% | +/-3.5 | 695 |
| Ipsos/Reuters/UVA Center for Politics September 12-19, 2018 | N/A | 46% | 43% | 11% | +/-3.3 | 1,181 |
| Anderson Robbins Research (D)/Shaw & Company Research (R) September 8-11, 2018 | Fox News | 43% | 45% | 12% | +/-3.5 | 677 |
| Marist University August 26-29, 2018 | NBC News | 44% | 41% | 15% | +/-5.0 | 576 |
| Trafalgar Group July 31-August 7, 2018 | N/A | 51% | 39% | 11% | +/-2.6 | 1,420 |
| AVERAGES | 44.15% | 42.54% | 12% | +/-3.84 | 833.08 |
The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Braun | Republican Party | $25,950,207 | $25,878,622 | $71,583 | As of December 31, 2018 |
| Joe Donnelly | Democratic Party | $14,585,918 | $15,800,916 | $173,873 | As of December 31, 2018 |
| Lucy Brenton | Libertarian Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2018.
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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U.S. Senate, Indiana General Election, 2016
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Todd Young |
52.1% | 1,423,991 | |
| Democratic | Evan Bayh | 42.4% | 1,158,947 | |
| Libertarian | Lucy Brenton | 5.5% | 149,481 | |
| N/A | Write-in | 0% | 127 | |
| Total Votes | 2,732,546 | |||
| Source: Indiana Election Division | ||||
U.S. Senate, Indiana General Election, 2012
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Donnelly |
50% | 1,281,181 | |
| Republican | Richard Mourdock | 44.3% | 1,133,621 | |
| Libertarian | Andy Horning | 5.7% | 145,282 | |
| Independent | James Johnson, Jr. | 0% | 15 | |
| Independent | Amy Willis | 0% | 3 | |
| Total Votes | 2,560,102 | |||
| Source: Indiana Secretary of State "United States Senate Election Results" | ||||
Demographic data for Indiana
| Indiana | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|
| Total population: | 6,612,768 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 35,826 | 3,531,905 |
| Gender | ||
| Female: | 50.7% | 50.8% |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 84.2% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 9.2% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 1.9% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.2% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 6.4% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 87.8% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 24.1% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $49,255 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 18.4% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Indiana. | ||
As of July 2016, Indiana had a population of approximately 6,600,000 people, with its three largest cities being Indianapolis (pop. est. 856,000), Fort Wayne (pop. est. 265,000), and Evansville (pop. est. 119,000). The chart on the right shows demographic information for Indiana from 2010 to 2015.
