Just weeks after Bluffton City, Indiana, Common Council member Blake Fiechter was endorsed by President Donald Trump for a state Senate seat, he backed out of the race.
“I felt like I was on a raft alone trying to navigate,” he told WANE-TV of Fort Wayne in February.
So Trump, with his sights set on unseating the Indiana Republican lawmakers who defied him on a redistricting vote last year, threw him a lifeline. In early March, Fiechter and five other Republican candidates Trump is backing for state Senate seats were at the White House and getting their picture taken behind the Resolute Desk.
The next day, Fiechter was back in the race.
“It was just basically ‘work hard, we’ll be there for you, don’t let me down,’” a longtime Trump adviser said of the March meeting.
Millions of dollars have flooded into Indiana’s Republican Senate primaries ahead of the May 5 primary as Trump seeks revenge on the legislators who refused to redraw the state’s congressional boundaries to boost the party ahead of the midterm elections. It was a rare rebuke for Trump, who has otherwise maintained a firm grip on the Republican Party since he returned to office.
Trump has endorsed 17 candidates for state legislative seats in Indiana, including five challengers to Republican state senators who voted against the redrawn map in December. He is also backing a spate of state Senate incumbents who supported the redistricting effort and a candidate for an open seat, who was also part of the March White House meeting.
It has resulted in an unusually active state legislative primary season in Indiana. Already, more than $2 million has been poured into ads in Republican Senate primaries, according to the tracking firm AdImpact, with millions more to come from outside groups. In 2024, less than $500,000 was spent on Indiana Senate ads across the entire election cycle.
Aside from the five Trump and his allies are opposing, three more GOP state senators voted against the redistricting push and are seeking re-election. The Trump adviser said Trump still may issue endorsements in those races.
Asked why Trump chose to weigh in where he did, the adviser said it was a “combination of quality of recruit, strength of incumbent, strength of district in general election.” The adviser also said no specific financial pledges were made to the candidates Trump endorsed. “Just said we’d be there 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. That includes mailers that feature photos of Trump and the candidates, as well as Trump’s Truth Social endorsement.
Outside groups tied to U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., who supported the redistricting effort, have also gotten involved. Hoosier Leadership for America plans to spend $3 million, Politico reported; $1.5 million of that has already gone toward TV, radio and digital ads, according to AdImpact. American Leadership PAC has also spent or committed $666,000 to ads, per AdImpact.
Turning Point Action, the political arm of the conservative youth group co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk, pledged in December to “throw so much money and resources” against Republicans who voted against the redistricting plan, though so far, it had spent $7,500 on ads as of Tuesday.
And Fair Maps Indiana founder Marty Obst told NBC News that the group plans to spend seven figures to oppose Republicans who blocked redistricting.
“The bottom line is Indiana had the opportunity to potentially pick up two seats. They chose not to, and so because of that, they drew primary challengers,” Obst said. “President Trump’s the head of the party, and I think it’s important to support his agenda.”
Many of the ads that have run so far focus heavily on Trump. An ad from American Leadership PAC backing state Rep. Michelle Davis, who is challenging state Sen. Greg Walker, mentions Trump’s name four times in 15 seconds.
“President Trump endorses Michelle Davis for state Senate. Strong, pro-Trump,” the narrator says. “Trump-endorsed Michelle Davis will never let you down. Endorsed by President Trump, Michelle Davis for state Senate.”
Another digital ad from the Banks-tied Hoosier Leadership for America accused state Sen. Greg Goode of being “for liberal Democrats” and “against Trump” after he voted against the redistricting proposal.
“Tell Greg Goode he’s voting like a bad guy,” the narrator says.
A similar digital ad targeting state 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 that was used to try to sway reluctant lawmakers on redistricting last year. Ultimately, the attacks from Trump and his allies fell flat, as a majority of Republican senators voted down a map that could have allowed the party to gain two House seats.
A longtime Republican activist who is volunteering for the anti-redistricting incumbents and was granted anonymity to speak candidly said multiple voters brought up the flurry of ads during a day of door-knocking for Walker.
“They said: ‘Where’s she getting this money? I’m getting all this mail. Where is this coming from?’” the activist said. “They must be looking at disclaimers, because they said, ‘I’ve never heard of some of these groups.’”
“I feel like it’s almost like the heavy-handedness that they used against legislators is now being aimed at the voter,” the activist added.
Republican Sen. Sue Glick said the redistricting vote has been even more divisive 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 isn’t up for re-election this year — “thank God,” she said.
“Even then, we didn’t have the viciousness that’s coming through on this. This is beyond the pale. There are attack ads. They’re going after good people in a super negative fashion,” Glick said.
“Why would the president of the United States have the time or spend the effort and the money to be vindictive with a bunch of Hoosier politicians?” she added.
