Indiana Republican primary voters netted dramatic changes up and down ballots Tuesday, kicking out a wave of establishment-allied incumbents while reinforcing many incumbent conservatives against party-backed challengers from their left. The headlines focused on eight Republican state senators who faced primary challengers backed by President Donald Trump for failing to redistrict the state to combat Democrat-run states’ rampant gerrymandering of congressional districts.
At this writing, by large margins six of the eight Senate challengers have kicked out the anti-redistricting incumbents, including members of senior GOP state leadership. One of the remaining incumbents kept his seat, probably thanks in large part to a low-quality challenger, and the other race is too close to call with a margin of only a few votes, according to NBC, and probably headed to a recount.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun and U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, both vocal and in Banks’ case large financial supporters of the primary challengers, have called for state Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray to step down due to the electoral slaughter of his coalition. Indiana’s Republican Party, both at state and county levels, spent big to attack more conservative candidates, and most of that spending failed to protect their incumbents.
The Indiana Senate Majority Campaign Committee, run by Bray, lost two of its steering members to primary challengers Tuesday, including Majority Caucus Chair Travis Holdman. Its largest primary expenditure this year of $600,000, according to the Indiana Family Association’s Micah Clark, attempted to protect Sen. Spencer Deery, whose race is currently within three votes of a loss.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member