By Tom Davies
Indiana Capital Chronicle
Indiana Republican voters decisively sided with President Donald Trump’s call for political vengeance against state senators who defied him and voted down congressional redistricting.
Results from Tuesday’s primaries showed at least five Republican senators defeating challengers endorsed by Trump, with another Trump-backed candidate winning an open-seat primary. Only one of the eight senators opposed by pro-redistricting groups — Greg Goode of Terre Haute — was a certain winner.
Those incumbent senators defeated were Travis Holdman of Markle, Jim Buck of Kokomo, Linda Rogers of Granger, Dan Dernulc of Highland and Greg Walker of Columbus. All their challengers received 60% of the vote or more, according to preliminary tallies compiled by The Associated Press.
Sen. Spencer Deery of West Lafayette was leading by just three votes at 11 p.m. Tuesday. And Sen. Rick Niemeyer of Lowell was down 1,300 votes with 87% reporting.
Gov. Mike Braun, who joined Trump in endorsing their challengers, cheered the results.
“Historic night for Indiana as Republicans stood with me and President Trump to nominate some great America First conservatives,” said a Braun social media post. “I look forward to winning big in November and serving Hoosiers with this team in the statehouse!”
Senate leadership could be in turmoil
The results could jeopardize Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray’s hold on the top Senate leadership position he’s held since 2018.
Trump repeatedly blasted Bray and GOP senators who opposed the push to redraw Indiana’s U.S. House maps to carve up the two districts held by Democrats with the aim of a 9-0 Republican congressional delegation.
The races in which Sens. Spencer Deery of West Lafayette and Rick Niemeyer of Lowell faced challengers were too close to call by about 10 p.m. Tuesday.
Bray’s Martinsville-area Senate seat isn’t on the ballot until 2028, but Trump and his pro-redistricting allies sought pledges from primary challengers that they would seek to oust Bray as Senate president pro tem.
Bray said Tuesday night that he would seek to remain as the Senate’s leader. He said the primary results showed the impact of the unheard-of $10 million-plus that national organizations spent on defeating the incumbent senators.
“The amount of money that was spent in Indiana is material, it matters, and that was very, very difficult to overcome,” Bray told the Indiana Capital Chronicle. “We worked really hard. Our candidates worked really hard to get their message out, but the voters spoke, and we’ll deal with that in the coming days and months.”
Holdman’s loss is particularly prominent as he was the highest-ranking senator as majority caucus chairman to face a Trump-endorsed challenger after voting against redistricting.
State Rep. Michelle Davis of Whiteland, who defeated Walker in his bid for a fifth term, was among six Trump-backed candidates who got Oval Office photos alongside the president during an early March trip to Washington. Those photos were then featured in TV ads and mailers blasted out by pro-redistricting groups.
“I want to thank President Donald Trump for his support,” Davis said in a statement. “I’m proud to stand with him in fighting for commonsense policies that protect our freedoms and put Americans and Hoosiers First.”
Huge spending against redistricting foes
Trump took the unprecedented step of endorsing seven challengers to current Republican senators after the Senate voted down the redistricting bill in December.
That unleashed a torrent of broadcast ad spending that reached $13.5 million for the primary campaigns — a nearly 5,000% jump from the roughly $250,000 spent in 2024 on state Senate races, the ad-tracking service AdImpact posted Tuesday.
Trump kept up his broadsides against GOP senators who opposed redistricting with a social media post as primary voting continued Tuesday afternoon. He again castigated those senators as RINOs, or Republicans in name only.
“Good luck to those Great Indiana Senate Candidates who are running against people who couldn’t care less about our Country, or about keeping the Majority in Congress,” the post said. “There are eight Great Patriots running against long seated RINOS — Let’s see how those RINOS do tonight! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
Bridgett Flannery said she supported “a more conservative” option when she cast her ballot for Trump-endorsed Davis over Walker.
“We need representatives who are truly Republicans — who we don’t have to wonder how they’re going to vote or where they stand,” Flannery said at the Johnson County Fairgrounds. “It’s not just (redistricting). It’s about what we’re doing about schools, for jobs and the economy and how we’re going to make better lives for our families.”
Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Banks declared victory with the results that came after political groups aligned with him poured millions of dollars into attack ads against the Trump-targeted incumbents.
“Big night for MAGA in Indiana,” Banks posted on social media. “Proud to have helped elect more conservative Republicans to the Indiana State Senate.”
The Banks-aligned groups were the state’s top political advertisers, with Hoosier Leadership for America spending $5.2 million and American Leadership PAC spending $3.8M, according to AdImpact.
One of those ads called Buck, who’s been in the Legislature since 1994, “Old. Pathetic. Liberal.” and touted Trump’s endorsement of challenger Tracey Powell, a Tipton County commissioner.
Powell prevailed even though Trump’s endorsements turned off some primary voters.
David Keller, a 65-year-old retiree from Westfield, described himself as an independent who pulled a Republican primary ballot in order to vote for Buck “because his opponent was heartily endorsed by President Trump, and I’m not a Trumper.”
Results show Trump holds sway
Bray pointed to Deery’s reelection campaign, where he raised about $1 million, but about $2.5 million was spent to boost Trump-endorsed candidate Paula Copenhaver in the district spanning much of the area between Lafayette and Terre Haute.
Bray had lamented that senators who opposed redistricting were “under a massive attack from Washington, D.C, and elsewhere in the nation.”
He said Tuesday night he believed he could still work effectively with Braun.
“Every senator is going to have to speak for themselves on this, but we’re going to try and do what matters in Indiana,” he said.
Bray led the defense of his fellow senators with at least $3.5 million from campaign funds he controls.
Former state Rep. Jeff Ellington of Bloomfield was the Trump-backed candidate for an open seat in southwestern Indiana. He won a three-person race with nearly half the vote.
Ellington told the Capital Chronicle that the victories of those candidates supported by the president shows he still has strong sway among Republicans.
“I think President Trump does but, really, I think it is all about what the decisions of the voters want, and it shows they want change and they want small communities to be listened to,” Ellington said. “They want job creation, they want investment and they want their taxes lowered while making government more efficient.”
Senior Reporter Casey Smith contributed to this story.
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The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to giving Hoosiers a comprehensive look inside state government, policy and elections. The site combines daily coverage with in-depth scrutiny, political awareness and insightful commentary.
