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Trump revenge tour steamrolls Indiana holdouts
May 6, 2026
Posted 2 hours ago by
President Trump exacted retribution Tuesday on a group of Indiana Republican state legislators who blocked his push to redraw the state's congressional map.Trump's political operation targeted eight GOP state senators for defeat in their primaries.By late Tuesday, six of those legislators were defeated, one survived and one was locked in a race that was too close to call.Why it matters: The outcome represented a major win for Trump's political team, which is aggressively going after Republicans who defy the president.Trump is also backing primary challengers to Kentucky Rep.
Thomas Massie and Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, both of whom face primaries this month.Behind the scenes: Trump's team was deeply involved in the Indiana effort. A pair of groups aligned with Indiana Sen. Jim Banks, named American Leadership PAC and Hoosier Leadership for America and overseen by longtime Trump operative Andy Surabian, spent 8 million to unseat the state senators.Also involved in the Indiana campaign: White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair, White House Political Director Matt Brasseaux, Trump campaign pollster and chief strategist Tony Fabrizio, and Trump 2024 data consultant Tim Saler.The Trump team began planning for the Indiana blitz in February, two months after the legislators voted down Trump's redistricting plan.Club for Growth, another pro-Trump group that closely coordinated with the other outfits, spent 2 million.What they're saying: I'm proud to have stood with Hoosiers and President Donald J. Trump, Banks tells Axios.Tonight was a lesson to Republican lawmakers throughout the nation. There are consequences for not representing your voters, he added.What's next: Trump's Indiana win puts pressure on Republican state legislators in other states to enact White House-backed redistricting measures.Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and South Carolina are all deliberating whether — or how aggressively — to redraw congressional maps following last week's Supreme Court ruling that weakened the Voting Rights Act.
Axios
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