With the help of President Trump’s endorsement, several GOP primary challengers unseated incumbents in the Indiana Legislature.

On Tuesday, at least five of the seven challengers whom Trump supported secured victories over incumbent state senators.

One incumbent was re-elected, while another race was too close to call.

The results highlight Trump’s unyielding influence in the solidly red state.

“The president backed challengers against Indiana lawmakers who opposed his redistricting plan for the state… and most of them went down by double digits. What are usually low-profile state races turned into a multi-million-dollar political fight, pulling in national attention — and showing how strong Trump’s grip remains on the party,” Fox News wrote.

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“Nearly $12 million was spent on advertising across the seven races where Trump-backed challengers took on sitting state senators, with the bulk of that spending coming from outside groups aligned with the president and targeting the incumbents,” it continued.

Fox News explained further:

“Everyone in Indiana politics should have learned an important lesson today: President Trump is the single most popular Republican among Hoosier voters,” Republican Sen. Jim Banks of Indiana, a top Trump ally in the Senate, said in a statement as the results poured in.

Banks, who was a key part of the team of Trump allies and advisors in the effort to defeat the incumbent GOP state senators, emphasized that “Indiana is a conservative state, and we deserve conservatives in our State Senate who have a pulse on Republican voters.”

Trump and his team started flexing their political muscles soon after the president’s push for redistricting in Indiana came crashing down last December.

A Republican source familiar with the effort to defeat the incumbent GOP state senators told Fox News Digital over $8 million was spent on TV and digital ads between the American Leadership PAC and Hoosier Leadership for America, two outside groups aligned with Banks and steered by Team Trump strategist Andrew Surabian.

The source added that Team Trump operatives began organizing this plan in February and were responsible for the vast majority of the money raised that was spent by the two groups.

“Big night for MAGA in Indiana. Proud to have helped elect more conservative Republicans to the Indiana State Senate,” Banks wrote on X.

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NBC News has more:

State Sen. Travis Holdman, who has served in the Senate since 2008 and is the third-most powerful Republican in the chamber, was defeated by real estate agent Blake Fiechter.

Fiechter briefly left the race in February, telling local media he didn’t have the resources to compete, but changed his mind after a White House visit in March.

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80-year-old state Sen. Jim Buck was unseated by Tipton County Commission member Tracey Powell after serving in the Legislature since 1994.

Buck, who was facing his first primary since joining the state Senate in 2008, had the support of Mike Pence, the former vice president and Indiana governor.

State Sen. Greg Walker was set to retire last year after 20 years in the chamber, but reversed course amid the redistricting fight, where he notably broke down in tears speaking about his fear for the future of the party if the Legislature caved to Trump’s demands.

He lost Tuesday to state Rep. Michelle Davis, who launched her campaign before Walker decided to run again, but ended up staying in the primary race and won Trump’s endorsement.

Elsewhere, state Sen. Linda Rogers, who owns and manages a golf course and a home building company, lost her primary to Dr. Brian Schmutzler, an anesthesiologist.

And state Sen. Dan Dernulc, who represents a district in the northern part of the state near Chicago, was defeated by Trevor De Vries, an insurance broker.

But one state senator who drew Trump’s ire, Greg Goode, won his primary Tuesday. Goode bested Vigo County Council member Brenda Wilson, who was backed by Trump, and Alexandra Wilson, a network engineer.

 

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