‘Veep’: An Indiana Democratic Senator Basically Recreated Jonah Ryan’s Campaign Ad

Look, a Senate campaign is a long and difficult. It’s hard to stay on message for months on end. Even when you do, you might just accidentally end up recreating one of the best political gags from the last few years.

Democratic Senator Joe Donnelly is now showing why “Veep” might sneakily be the most accurate show about DC, after a Twitter sleuth pointed out the similarities between his recent 30-second TV spot and one from Jonah Ryan’s House race. In Season 5, as the odious Jonah ran for an open Congressional seat in New Hampshire, his team salvaged a day’s worth of unsuccessful attempts at ruggedness to piece together this workable 30-second ad.

Timothy Simons, the actor behind Jonah, bolstered his recent return from a Twitter sabbatical by weighing in on the similarity.

https://twitter.com/timothycsimons/status/1052981874291662848

Donnelly, an incumbent, is facing reelection for the first time after becoming one of Indiana’s two senators after the 2012 race. As of now, his tactics are working, as he’s sitting comfortably in his race against Republican challenger Mike Braun. If he really wants to recreate Jonah’s arc, Donnelly’s got some work to do before 2020; presumably he’s got better awareness of phone etiquette at his next elementary school campaign stop.

Meanwhile, “Veep” is in production on its farewell Season 7, which should arrive on HBO sometime next year.