President Trump is still the dominant force in Republican primaries.
He woke up Wednesday with fresh bragging rights after helping knock out several Indiana Republican state senators who defied his push to redraw the state’s congressional map.
In the seven primaries in which he endorsed challengers of lawmakers who voted down his preferred map last year, Mr. Trump got his revenge in five of them. One incumbent survived, and another race was still too close to call.
“Everyone in Indiana politics should have learned an important lesson today: President Trump is the single most popular Republican among Hoosier voters,” said Sen. Jim Banks of Indiana, who helped lead the pro-Trump primary push.
Mr. Trump’s targeting of the lawmakers triggered a massive spike in primary spending, from well under $1 million in the previous three cycles to more than $13.5 million this year. AdImpact showed that the biggest spenders were the Banks‑aligned Hoosier Leadership for America, which poured in $5.2 million, and American Leadership PAC, which spent another $3.8 million.
The fallout continued Wednesday as Gov. Mike Braun, a Republican, said the results should serve as a wake‑up call for Indiana state Senate Republicans. He suggested it may be time to replace state Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, who became the face of the redistricting opposition but was not on the ballot this year.
“I have said all along, if you are not doing things that are not going to make lives for Hoosiers better, that you can’t stick with the same whole game plan,” Mr. Braun told reporters. “I will let them work that out on their own, and after last night, I think it gives them the option of having new leadership if they choose to get it.”
The results also raise the stakes in Kentucky, where Rep. Thomas Massie faces a May 19 primary challenge from Trump‑backed Ed Gallrein in the 4th Congressional District.
Mr. Trump’s political clout took some hits last year. He ran into a string of election setbacks in Virginia, New Jersey, Georgia and other states. His poll numbers slipped after the fight over releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files, which exposed divisions inside the MAGA movement, along with rising gas prices and the ongoing war in Iran.
It has energized Democrats, who are increasingly bullish about their chances of making gains this fall. They are betting that the Trump magic will not translate to the broader general election electorate in key battleground states and competitive congressional districts.
Still, he won a month ago in Georgia. His endorsement helped Clay Fuller prevail in the special election runoff to replace former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Ms. Greene resigned after a dramatic break with Mr. Trump over the Epstein files and the direction of his movement. Even so, that race ended up tighter than many Republicans expected, adding to jitters heading into the midterm elections this fall, as House Republicans defend a slim majority and Democrats even dream of flipping the Senate.
In Indiana, Mr. Trump’s preferred candidates were winning 60% to 75% of the vote.
State Sen. Greg Goode, so far the only incumbent to survive a Trump‑backed challenge, won with 54%. Mr. Goode had urged colleagues to reject the maps, focus on affordability issues and avoid the vitriol he said had “infiltrated” Indiana through “cruel social media posts, threats of primaries, and threats of violence.”
About five months before Mr. Trump’s revenge in the state races, his national redistricting push hit a wall in Indianapolis. Twenty‑one Republicans in the state Senate voted against his plan for a new congressional map that likely would have given the Republicans full control of Indiana’s nine‑member delegation.
“The candidates who failed to support the President’s plan to hold Congress and save the country are now being held accountable,” Club for Growth Action President David McIntosh said after the Tuesday elections.
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