Endangered Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly tries to distance himself from 'radical left' in new ad

With less than a month to go until Election Day, Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., has released a new campaign ad painting him as a foil to the “radical left” and “socialists.” (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

As his fierce battle for re-election nears a close, Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly attacked the “radical left” and even sought to align with President Trump and former President Ronald Reagan.

In a new campaign ad, Donnelly said he supports Trump’s proposed border wall and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency – even as prominent progressive Democrats have called for it to be abolished.

When the ad’s narrator said “socialists want to turn health care over to the government,” Donnelly responded, “Over my dead body.” The nearly 30-second spot also criticized “extremes on the left and right” for advocating for cuts to defense spending.

“I don’t want our troops in a fair fight. I want them to have the best,” Donnelly said. “As President Reagan said, 'Peace through strength.'”

The endangered Indiana senator is locked in a crucial battle for re-election with Republican Mike Braun. Fox News has ranked the race as a toss-up.

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Throughout the campaign, Donnelly has sought to portray himself as a more moderate Democrat and the campaign’s Twitter account regularly mentions he “reaches across the aisle to get things done.” His campaign launched a “Republicans for Joe” group earlier this year.

Will Baskin-Gerwitz, a spokesman for the campaign, said Donnelly will “stand up to extremists on either side who want to harm Indiana,” in a statement to The Indianapolis Star.

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But Josh Kelley, a spokesman for Braun’s campaign, said the incumbent senator has “stood with the radical left to smear Justice Kavanaugh, he supports socialized healthcare through ObamaCare, his campaign is funded by Democrat Senators who have vowed to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and stole Ronald Reagan’s ‘peace through strength’ motto despite supporting Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran.”