Indiana Republican dons ‘MAGA’ hat in new Senate TV ad

Indiana Republican Rep. Todd Rokita dons a “Make America Great Again” hat in a new television ad for his Senate campaign in which he attacks his GOP primary rivals and pitches himself as a top ally to President Trump.

The crowded primary between Rokita, Rep. Luke Messer (R-Ind.) and businessman Mike Braun has turned into a battle to show themselves as closest aligned with Trump.

The president defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016 by about 19 points in Indiana, where Vice President Pence served as governor before joining the presidential ticket.

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In the ad, first obtained by The Hill, Rokita makes his pitch to Trump supporters while swatting aside the other candidates looking to take on incumbent Sen. Joe Donnelly (D).

“Here’s the truth: we are not going to beat Joe Donnelly with a RINO,” Rokita says in the ad, using the acronym for Republican in name only.

“Mike Braun, he’s a lifelong Democrat. He voted for [former President] Obama or Hillary [Clinton] … and Luke Messer, he plotted with the Never Trumpers to steal the nomination from President Trump.”

Rokita then puts on Trump’s signature red “Make America Great Again” baseball cap and says he will “proudly stand with the president and Mike Pence to drain the swamp.”

The ad is indicative of the hard-charging approach Rokita has taken to the campaign. He’s criticized Braun for regularly casting ballots in Democratic primaries until 2012, while Braun’s campaign has told the Indianapolis Star he’s a “lifelong Republican” who only voted in those elections to try to shift the outcome.

Rokita has also highlighted critical comments Messer made of Trump during the 2016 election, a strategy Messer’s campaign has brushed aside by arguing that Messer backed the president in the primary and has always supported him.

Rokita’s new ad comes as candidates release a flurry of advertisements ahead of the May primary.

Braun has played up the outsider angle against the two congressmen in the hopes of painting the pair as fixtures of Washington.

And Messer’s camp has sought a more positive tone, playing up his support of Trump in spots with family members that talk up his record instead of taking aim at opponents.