Experts say factors beyond redistricting drove Indiana primary results

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Two members of Indiana’s best political team on Friday said this week’s primary election showed President Donald Trump’s influence, but other factors were at work.

Eight Republican state senators who voted against redrawing Indiana’s congressional districts mid-decade ran in Tuesday’s primary. Six of them were defeated by wide margins. A seventh, Spencer Deery, of West Lafayette, sits in a virtual tie, leading Paula Copenhaver by four votes. Only Sen. Greg Goode, R-Terre Haute, won a clear victory among the anti-redistricting incumbents. He took home 53% of the vote in a race that pitted him against Brenda Wilson, who received both Trump and Braun’s backing, and Alexandra Wilson, who is not related to Brenda.

Hamilton County Republican Party Chair and “All INdiana Politics” contributor Mario Massillamany said some of the incumbents who were defeated, such as Greg Walker and Jim Buck, had done little to build campaign infrastructure and did not take the primary challenger threat seriously.

In addition, Massillamany said, Travis Holdman, the third-highest-ranking Republican in the state Senate, lost his primary because his constituents were upset over his vote for a bill to authorize a new casino in northeast Indiana. Still, Massillamany said, the primary clearly shows the Republican Party is Trump’s party.

“Donald Trump, David McIntosh, Turning Point USA, (U.S. ...