IN-SEN: Brains or Braun?

[Maxwell]

Messer's a middle tier candidate in the grand scheme of things - he wouldn't win it outright but he also isn't gonna completely butcher it ala Mourdock, MacIntosh, or even Stutzman. He's pretty conservative, and supported the Trump Travel Ban. If Messer does jump in as this article insinuates he will, I think he'd have the advantage but not a stable one.

[Maxwell]

Why did Lugar lose so badly, and why did Stutzman lose so badly?

Lugar was perceived as out of touch and Lugar didn't really do much to change that perception.

Stutzman ran against someone just about as conservative as he was in Todd Young, except way more electable. Also, Indiana Republicans learned the hard way with Mourdock not to just elect "muh conservative" candidate.

[Maxwell]

Young had a rough primary with Stutzman in 2016 and it didn't stop him from beating the most successful democratic politician of the last half century in Indiana in a ten point landslide.

TBF didn't Bayh have some pretty extreme liabilities with his residency gaffes? Took down Luger, too.

(Pro tip, aspiring pols: live in your goddamn home state)

residency issues were the least of Bayh's problems, which ultimately was him being a gignatic swamp monster who left the Senate to become a major lobbyist and then running back to Indiana for an electoral gig. Hint hint that never works.

[Maxwell]

yeah I definitely think both Messer and Rotika could blow it and allow Braun to win the nomination. Messer is aggressively anti-charismatic and mediocre and Rotika is aggressively unlikable and a diva and both HATE eachother.

[Maxwell]

Does anyone else have a hard time telling Messer and Rokita apart?

mike braun literally did an ad about this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvKHqChRrYg

probably the best republican ad i've seen this cycle

I'm genuinely pretty worried about Braun winning the primary.