It’s not often that all eyes are watching state legislature races, but Tuesday night had the nation singularly focused on Indiana.
Redistricting is currently a hot topic after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana’s race-based House district maps were unconstitutional. It’s paved the way for GOP-led Southern states to redraw their maps to reflect their constituencies better. But it’s not the first time that redistricting carried the news since President Donald Trump’s second term began.
In 2025, national GOP leaders, including Trump and Vice President JD Vance, urged Indiana to redraw the state’s House district maps. Indiana has nine House districts. As a deep-red state, allowing two Democratic Party-controlled districts didn’t align with the state’s actual voters. Voters wanted the Indiana state legislature to redistrict the state from a 7-2 Republican advantage to a 9-0 GOP sweep. (Sign up for Mary Rooke’s weekly newsletter here!)
Republican Indiana Gov. Mike Braun called a special session for congressional redistricting, and the effort passed the state House 57-41, despite a handful of GOP no-votes joining Democrats. However, the new map failed to pass the state Senate.
There were eight state Senators, part of a larger group of 21 Republicans, who voted against the redistricting bill and were up for re-election on Tuesday. Dan Dernulc, Linda Rogers, Travis Holdman, Jim Buck, Greg Walker, Rick Niemeyer, Greg Goode, and Spencer Deery all faced Republican primary challengers. Millions were reportedly spent on these races to unseat the defectors. Ultimately, six of the eight lost their races.
Last night was a good one for President Trump in Indiana. 6 of 8 anti-redistricting GOP incumbents in the state Senate lost, with Trump having endorsed 5 of the challengers.
Just 1 incumbent survived, while another is in a race that’s too close to call. pic.twitter.com/KDKsqC0vJd
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) May 6, 2026
Goode was one of the few targeted incumbents who successfully fended off his primary challengers. It likely helped him that both of his primary opponents were women who had the same last name: Brenda Wilson and Alexandra Wilson.
Deery’s Republican primary race for the Indiana state Senate has not been officially called. He is currently leading his opponent, Paula Copenhaver, by three votes. Both candidates have declared victory, but a recount or full canvas by county clerks will likely decide the outcome.
Holdman, one of the GOP state Senators who lost his primary race, reacted to his defeat, saying, “I have one lesson for people: revenge and retribution is not a Christian value. And that’s what this was all about.”
He’s not wrong to claim that his and the other’s losses were about “revenge and retribution.” That’s exactly what happened here, and the broader GOP should take heed. Either use the power the voters gave you to enact their will and mandate, or sit back and watch the voters take you out one election at a time. (RELATED: Completely Overlooked Consequence Of SCOTUS Redistricting Decision Could Dramatically Change Congress)
The era for so-called “principled conservatism” is over. Voters want elected officials to be fighting tooth and nail to get their wishes across the line. Pretending like you have some moral right to ignore your constituency because you feel like you know better isn’t going to work anymore. Indiana voters proved this Tuesday night. They put the entire GOP apparatus on notice.
Govern the way we want or risk our wrath in the primary.
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