INDIANAPOLIS — Two members of Indiana's best political team on Friday said this week's primary election showed President Donald Trump's influence, but other factors were at work.
Eight Republican state senators who voted against redrawing Indiana's congressional districts mid-decade ran in Tuesday's primary. Six of them were defeated by wide margins. A seventh, Spencer Deery, of West Lafayette, sits in a virtual tie, leading Paula Copenhaver by four votes. Only Sen. Greg Goode, R-Terre Haute, won a clear victory among the anti-redistricting incumbents. He took home 53% of the vote in a race that pitted him against Brenda Wilson, who received both Trump and Braun's backing, and Alexandra Wilson, who is not related to Brenda.
Hamilton County Republican Party Chair and "All INdiana Politics" contributor Mario Massillamany said some of the incumbents who were defeated, such as Greg Walker and Jim Buck, had done little to build campaign infrastructure and did not take the primary challenger threat seriously.
In addition, Massillamany said, Travis Holdman, the third-highest-ranking Republican in the state Senate, lost his primary because his constituents were upset over his vote for a bill to authorize a new casino in northeast Indiana. Still, Massillamany said, the primary clearly shows the Republican Party is Trump's party.
"Donald Trump, David McIntosh, Turning Point USA, (U.S. Sen.) Jim Banks, they did what they said they were going to do," Massillamany said. "And I don't believe that these senators realized that they were going to do what they said they would do, and they thought this was going to blow over over a couple months."
Democratic strategist Lara Beck said she was a little surprised so many incumbents lost. She said the primary shows how much money, in the form of campaign ads, can influence elections.
"Whether establishment Republicans like it or not, and it's very hard, I think, for many of them to digest, and I think it's been a tough couple of years, if you're a moderate Republican in Indiana, your party has been taken over by this MAGA influence," she said.
Beck said she thinks the fact so many Trump-backed candidates won primaries might help Democrats in November. She said gas prices likely will still be an issue, and that heavily affects affordability matters, which have played heavily in both Democratic and Republican talking points. Massillamany said many of those seats are fairly safe, but Turning Point USA and other outside groups will need to continue to support those primary candidates over the coming months.
"All INdiana Politics" premieres on WRTV at 11:30 p.m. on May 10.
