Trump flexes muscle in Indiana: GOP incumbents fall in primary showdowns
President Donald Trump‘s immense sway over the GOP was on the line tonight in Indiana’s primary, as the president’s endorsements in key Republican state Senate nomination races were being tested.
And it appears Trump’s grip over the Republican Party remains extremely strong.
Five months ago, Republicans in the GOP-dominated Indiana state Senate withstood immense pressure from Trump and his allies and voted down congressional redistricting, which would have given solidly red Indiana two more right-leaning U.S. House seats ahead of the midterms.
Fast-forward to present day, and eight of those state senators faced GOP primary challenges. Seeking retribution, the president endorsed challengers to seven of the eight Republican lawmakers who voted against the redistricting bill.
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The Associated Press reports that fIve Trump-endorsed candidates have won, with one incumbent surviving, and one race yet to be decided.
Trump-backed Blake Fletcher has defeated incumbent state Sen. Travis Holdman in Indiana’s 19th District, in the northeastern part of the state. And Michelle Davis, who was supported by the president, topped incumbent Sen. Greg Walker in District 41 in central Indiana.
Tracey Powell, who was also supported by Trump, defeated incumbent state Sen. Jim Buck in District 21 in central Indiana. Buck was backed by former Vice President Mike Pence, who was elected congressman and later governor of Indiana before serving as Trump’s first vice president.
In District 11 in northern Indiana, incumbent Linda Rogers was defeated by Trump-endorsed Brian Schmutzler.
And the AP also reports that in northwestern Indiana’s District 1, Trump-supported Trevor De Vries topped incumbent state Sen. Dan Dernulc.
Only one state senator has survived so far. Sen. Greg Goode defeated two challengers, Trump-backed Brenda Wilson and Alexandra Wilson, in District 38, in western Indiana.
Meanwhile, in District 39, Trump-backed Jeff Ellington won the GOP nomination in an open-seat race where there was no incumbent.
The president’s allies shelled out more than $6 million to try to oust the state senators, according to the national ad tracking firm AdImpact. Leading the charge were Hoosier Leadership for America and American Leadership PAC, which are aligned with GOP Sen. Jim Banks, a top Senate ally of the president. Groups allied with Republican Gov. Mike Braun were also part of the full court press.
“Everyone in Indiana politics should have learned an important lesson today: President Trump is the single most popular Republican among Hoosier voters. Indiana is a conservative state, and we deserve conservatives in our State Senate who have a pulse on Republican voters,” Banks said in a statement.
Two well known national groups: Turning Point USA’s political wing and the Club for Growth, also had the president’s back in Indiana.
The intraparty battle was seen not just as a test of fealty to Trump but rather a fight between MAGA forces and more traditional conservatives for the future of the GOP.
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We’ve got to change those old-style Republicans, put in people who will fight, fight against the Democrat gerrymandering,” Club for Growth President David McIntosh told Fox News Digital.
McIntosh, a former congressman from Indiana, said, “I want to see my state do the right thing.”
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But the besieged incumbents significantly outraised their challengers, and were also boosted by the Indiana Senate GOP caucus.
A pro-Trump source involved in the Indiana showdowns told Fox News Digital on the eve of the primary that a victory would be considered winning half the seats, and anything beyond that would be a major win.
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