INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Democratic Party, the organization that advocates for the future of Indiana and its families, today issued the following statement from Mike Schmuhl – Chairman of the Indiana Democrats – after a bombshell report revealed U.S. Senator Mike Braun broke federal campaign finance laws and cheated his way to a win during the 2018 U.S. Senate elections:

“It’s clear from the reporting that came out this morning that Mike Braun broke the law and stole a United States Senate seat in 2018. Today, Hoosiers need to ask themselves a sobering question: Do we have an illegitimately elected U.S. senator? Braun used $8.5 million of ‘apparent prohibited loans’ to fuel his campaign – an amount of money that made his campaign much more competitive. Hoosiers deserve answers and the Indiana Democratic Party is calling on all jurisdictions to investigate potential criminality related to Braun’s campaign, businesses, or personal finances. The Department of Justice and the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana should determine whether federal laws were broken. The Indiana Attorney General also should look into any wrongdoing with state law, particularly those related to tax records.

This is a sad day for the integrity of our elections in the Hoosier State. In January of this year, Mike Braun was ready to overturn our democracy by voting not to certify the presidential election results. It took an insurrection to change his mind. As it turns out, though, he likely rigged an election earlier, where he allegedly broke federal election law and cheated his way to his so-called victory. 

I hope Hoosiers across Indiana of every political viewpoint will join us as we demand answers – and justice – in the weeks and months ahead. This is a critical time for our state and country, and Indiana can’t have as one of its senators someone who doesn’t deserve to be representing us.”

• Mike Schmuhl, Chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party