Can Indiana lawmakers win after defying the president’s vote? | US news
Indiana voters head to the polls today to test the staying power of the Republican party after state lawmakers resisted Donald Trump’s campaign to push for redrawing congressional districts.
The vote turned into a statewide referendum on political revenge.
Seven state senators who voted against Trump’s redistricting push in the middle of the decade now face opponents endorsed by the president. in question “Each of these people should be ‘prioritized,'” he said after efforts failed.
Trump-affiliated dark money groups spent more than $7 million on TV ads in Indiana this year, according to an AdImpact calculation; majority spent targeting Republicans who aligned with Democrats in December’s redistricting vote.
Greg Goode, a first-term Republican representative from Terre Haute, now faces a competitive race in the 38th district against both Indiana governor Mike Braun and Trump-backed city councilwoman Brenda Wilson, as well as a third candidate, Alexandra Wilson, who shares her last name but is no relation.
Goode votes against Trump’s redistricting move after hosting a rally town hall event A meeting in which 71 people opposed the revision and none spoke in favor.
Kokomo state senator Jim Buck also faces a challenge from Trump after 18 years in office.
“We have never allowed Washington to interfere in our elections like this time,” Buck said. he told NPR. “Now I have more than $1 million in one race.”
One advert He targets the 80-year-old civil servant by calling him ‘old, poor, liberal’.
Republicans control seven of Indiana’s nine congressional districts, and the overall balance of power is unlikely to change in this year’s midterm elections. Trump’s redistricting plan sought to split Indiana’s first and seventh congressional districts, which represent the urban centers of Indianapolis and Gary, where Democrats consistently hold seats.
Party spending patterns show they expect to hold on to the seats — Democratic advertisers account for less than 1% of the $25.5 million in ad spending in Indiana’s 2026 primary contest. Advertising Effect data shows.
Half of Indiana’s 50 state Senate seats and all 100 State House seats are up for election in 2026.
Unlike Indiana, Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio All of the redistricting measures aimed at increasing Republican control were dutifully passed. Representatives in Alabama and Tennessee called for special sessions to discuss redistricting after last week’s supreme court decision cleared the way for revisions in Louisiana.
Democrats recently redrew voting maps in California.
In the final days before the contentious primary in Indiana, Trump issued a call to his TruthSocial followers, instructing them to vote for a “real MAGA Warrior.” If they need help finding polls, he added a link to polling places on his party’s campaign engine, “SwamptheVote.”
