INDEMS: Mike Braun TV Advertisement Used Digitally-Altered Media Without Disclaimer, Lies About Jennifer McCormick’s Record

On Monday, the Indiana Democratic Party released the following statement from Chairman Mike Schmuhl, on Mike Braun’s attack advertisement which manipulates an image taken by the South Bend Tribune featuring Jennifer McCormick and her supporters. The original advertisement was released this morning and ran at least 40 times on Indiana television stations without the required disclaimer from new state law HEA 1133.

“Mike Braun is running scared because Hoosiers see Jennifer’s commonsense message of balance, and Braun’s record of extremism, including his support for Indiana’s abortion ban,” said Schmuhl. “It speaks volumes that Braun stoops as low as using fake images to attack his opponent — even running the ad for a few hours without the required disclaimer on the content. As someone running for Indiana’s top office, Braun should know the law, but he has repeatedly broken election laws in his statewide campaigns.”

“It’s clear that Braun doesn’t play by the rules. He’d rather alter an image of Hoosiers without their permission than tell the truth. He only wants to get elected to serve his special interest donors, and he’ll do anything to smear an opponent. Hoosiers deserve honesty and transparency from their elected officials, especially after the state’s $1 billion Medicaid shortfall which has left too many vulnerable families searching for care.”

This is not the first time this year Braun has been caught breaking the rules. The Federal Election Commission fined Braun for over $150,000 earlier in 2024 for breaking reporting rules when running for U.S. Senate in 2018. It marked the largest fine the FEC has ever levied on a sitting US Senator.