Trump Targets Bill Cassidy and Thomas Massie After Indiana Primary Victories

President Donald Trump and his allies moved from Indiana’s state elections to new primary targets after Trump-backed challengers ousted at least five Indiana state Republicans who had snubbed Trump’s push to redraw the state’s congressional districts.

“INDIANAPOLIS -- Five months ago, President Donald Trump was stinging from one of the first political defeats of his second term as Republican state senators defied him on redistricting in Indiana”

ABC7 Chicago

The Indiana results were framed as a test of Trump’s endorsement power ahead of the midterms, with the Washington Examiner citing that “At least five Indiana state Republicans who snubbed Trump’s push to redraw the state’s congressional districts were ousted during Tuesday night’s primary elections.”

ABC7 Chicago

Fox News said the episode showed Trump’s grip on the Republican Party remained “rock solid,” and it tied the next phase of pressure to Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky.

Fox News also reported that Trump endorsed challengers to seven of eight Indiana lawmakers who faced re-election, and that five of the Trump-endorsed candidates won while one incumbent survived and one race was too close to call.

The Hill added that five out of the seven Trump-backed candidates defeated Republican state lawmakers in Indiana who had dared to block the president’s calls for redistricting, and it described the outcome as a signal to future GOP naysayers.

The Hill said Trump has already endorsed primary challengers against Massie and Cassidy, including Ed Gallrein for Massie and Julia Letlow for Cassidy, and it quoted Tim Murtaugh saying, “An endorsement from President Trump is always gold at any time, but it’s extraordinarily valuable in a Republican primary.”

In Louisiana, Fox News reported that Cassidy is facing primary challenges from Rep. Julia Letlow and former Rep. John Fleming, and it described Cassidy as one of only seven Senate Republicans who voted in early 2021 to convict Trump after the House impeached him over the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Fox News

Fox News also said Trump’s clout will be on the line again in Kentucky’s May 19 primary in the 4th Congressional District, where Massie faces a challenge from Trump-backed Ed Gallrein.

The Washington Examiner quoted Republican strategist Jay Townsend saying, “Last night was a test,” and it added that Townsend said the answer was now evident for Louisiana and Kentucky.

The Hill further reported that South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette called for the state’s General Assembly to ensure South Carolina’s congressional map “still complies with all requirements of federal law and the U.S. Constitution” following the Supreme Court decision.

Beyond the Cassidy and Massie primaries, ABC7 Chicago said Indiana’s primary “ratchets up the pressure on Republican lawmakers in other states to move aggressively to redraw congressional district boundaries before the November elections,” and it cited Alabama and Tennessee as having already begun special sessions.

“Streamline delivers efficient, clear, and reliable news content”

streamlinefeed.co.ke

ABC7 Chicago reported that Indiana Gov. Mike Braun called the night a “historic night” and thanked Republican voters who “stood with me and President Trump to nominate some great America First conservatives.”

The Hill described how Indiana and Ohio results could have nationwide implications in multiple-state redistricting wars, and it said Republican state lawmakers in Tennessee unveiled a proposed redrawn congressional map dividing the state’s only Democratic-controlled district into three parts.

Fox News added that Trump-allied groups spent over $10 million in Indiana to target GOP incumbents, and it said the intraparty battle was seen as a fight between MAGA forces and more traditional conservatives for the future of the GOP.

In Indiana, ABC7 Chicago quoted State Sen. Linda Rogers saying the outcome “will probably discourage others in other states,” while it also reported that Indiana’s redistricting efforts began last year and that after the Indiana Senate rejected the redistricting plan in December, Trump pledged to punish defiant lawmakers.