Indiana GOP Senate candidate Todd Young earned the endorsement of the Indianapolis Star on Friday, which has previously warned that the Republican Party’s presidential nominee “would be a danger to the United States and to the world.”
The Hoosier State’s paper of record, however, believes Young would benefit Indiana in a way Trump could not.
“Young has served Hoosiers well in Congress for the past six years,” the paper wrote in its endorsement. “He also provides a moderate-conservative voice that reflects the views of many Hoosiers and provides a valuable complement to [Democratic Sen. Joe] Donnelly, and Young has the ability to grow into the type of effective and thoughtful leader that [GOP Sen. Dan] Coats has typified in his final years in the Senate.”
The Star took issue with former Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh’s decision to use his connections in Washington to benefit himself after departing the U.S. Senate six years ago. The paper noted that Bayh’s late entrance into the Senate race appears to be “driven chiefly by his party’s opportunity to regain control of the chamber.”
No mention is made of Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton, but the Star has previously made its anti-Trump stance clear before the presidential primaries in May when Trump all but secured his party’s nomination. At the time, the Star withheld an endorsement on either side of the aisle but identified Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Clinton as the best options available.
“It’s unfortunate, in a nation of 320 million people, that voters must choose the next American president from the disappointing field of candidates now competing in the Democratic and Republican primaries,” the Star wrote in April.
With 17 days remaining until the election, the Star’s endorsement may help Young separate himself from Trump in a state that looks to be up for grabs and could determine the balance of power in the Senate.
