Trump goes on a revenge tour in Indiana after failed redistricting vote

Just weeks after Bluffton City, Indiana, Common Council member Blake Fiechter was endorsed by President Donald Trump for a state Senate seat, he has withdrawn from the race.

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“I felt like I was alone on a raft trying to navigate,” he told WANE-TV about Fort Wayne in February.

So Trump, aiming to unseat Indiana Republican lawmakers who defied him in a redistricting vote last year, threw him a lifeline. In early March, Fiechter and five other Republican candidates that Trump supports for Senate seats were at the White House and had their photos taken behind the Resolute Desk.

The day after, Fiechter was back in the race.

“It was just ‘work hard, we’ll be there for you, don’t let me down,'” one longtime Trump adviser recalled.

Millions of dollars have been poured into Indiana’s Republican Senate primaries ahead of the May 5 one, as Trump seeks revenge on lawmakers who refused to redraw the state’s congressional boundaries to strengthen the party ahead of the midterm elections. This is a rare rebuke for Trump, who has otherwise maintained a firm grip on the Republican Party since his return to power.

Trump has supported 17 candidates for Indiana state legislative seats, including five challengers to Republican state senators who voted against the redrawn map in December. He also supports a series of incumbent state senators who supported the redistricting effort and a candidate for an open seat, who was also part of the March meeting at the White House.

This made for an unusually active state legislative primary season in Indiana. According to tracking firm AdImpact, more than $2 million has already been invested in ads during the Republican Senate primaries, with millions more expected to come from outside groups. In 2024, less than $500,000 was spent on ads for the Indiana Senate throughout the election cycle.

In addition to the five Republican senators that Trump and his allies oppose, three other Republican senators voted against the redistricting proposal and are seeking re-election. The Trump adviser said Trump could still throw his support behind those races.

When asked why Trump chose to weigh in where he did, the adviser said it was “a combination of the quality of the recruit, the strength of the outgoing president and the strength of the district in the general election.” The adviser also said no specific financial promises were made to Trump-backed candidates. “I just said we’d be here to help,” the person said.

On Monday, the conservative group Club for Growth announced it would spend $1.5 million on six Trump-backed Senate candidates in Indiana. This includes mailers containing photos of Trump and candidates, as well as Trump’s support for Truth Social.

Outside groups linked to U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., who supported the redistricting effort, also got involved. Hoosier Leadership for America plans to spend $3 million, Politico reported; Of that, $1.5 million has already been spent on television, radio and digital advertising, according to AdImpact. American Leadership PAC also spent or incurred $666,000 on ads, per AdImpact.

Turning Point Action, the political arm of the young conservative group co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk, pledged in December to “dedicate as much money and resources” against Republicans who voted against the redistricting plan, even though so far it had spent $7,500 on ads as of Tuesday.

And Fair Maps Indiana founder Marty Obst told NBC News the group plans to spend seven figures to oppose Republicans who are blocking redistricting.

“Ultimately, Indiana had an opportunity to potentially win two seats. They chose not to do that, and so because of that, they drew their primary challengers,” Obst said. “President Trump is the head of the party and I think it’s important to support his agenda.”

Most of the ads released so far focus heavily on Trump. An ad from state Rep. Michelle Davis, who supports the American Leadership PAC and is challenging Sen. Greg Walker, mentions Trump’s name four times in 15 seconds.

“President Trump is endorsing Michelle Davis for State Senate. Strong, pro-Trump,” the narrator says. “Trump-endorsed Michelle Davis will never let you down. President Trump-endorsed Michelle Davis for State Senate”

Another digital ad from the bank-linked Hoosier Leadership for America accused Sen. Greg Goode of being “for liberal Democrats” and “against Trump” after he voted against the redistricting proposal.

“Tell Greg Goode he votes like a bad guy,” the narrator says.

A similar digital ad targeting Sen. Jim Buck features images of prominent Democrats, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

Some Indiana Republicans warned that the aggressive approach was reminiscent of the failed strategy used last year to try to sway reluctant lawmakers on redistricting. Ultimately, the attacks by Trump and his allies failed, with the majority of Republican senators voting against a map that could have won the party two seats in the House.

A longtime Republican activist who volunteered for anti-redistricting incumbents and was granted anonymity to speak candidly said several voters brought up the flurry of ads during a day of door-to-door canvassing for Walker.

“They said, ‘Where does she get this money? I get all this mail. Where does it come from?'” the activist said. “They need to look at the disclaimers, because they said, ‘I’ve never heard of some of these groups.'”

“I feel like it’s almost like the brutality that they used against the legislators is now aimed at the voters,” the activist added.

Republican Sen. Sue Glick said the vote on redistricting was even more controversial than when the Legislature passed her bill in 2022 to ban nearly all abortions in the state. Glick voted against the new map, but she is not up for re-election this year – “Thank God,” she said.

“Even then, we didn’t have the nastiness that comes through in this case. It’s beyond normal. There are attack ads. They go after good people in an extremely negative way,” Glick said.

“Why would the President of the United States have the time or spend the effort and money to be vindictive toward a bunch of Hoosier politicians? » she added.