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But that success may not help Republicans\u2019 odds in November\u2019s midterm elections, when Trump\u2019s sagging poll numbers, lingering inflation and frustration over the war with Iran have boosted Democrats\u2019 chance of retaking control of Congress. Some Republicans are worried that intraparty fights are costing time and money that should be focused on defending their majorities in Washington.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery dollar going toward keeping seats we already have, and not winning ones we don\u2019t, really matters,\u201d said Rick Tyler, a Republican strategist who has been critical of the president.<\/p>\n
However, Trump doesn\u2019t seem to have any second thoughts about purging his party of dissenters. Indiana\u2019s primary will likely\u00a0bolster his confidence\u00a0in other primaries this month, as he tries to oust U.S. Sen.\u00a0Bill Cassidy\u00a0of Louisiana and U.S. Rep.\u00a0Thomas Massie\u00a0of Kentucky.<\/p>\n
It also ratchets up the pressure on Republican lawmakers in other states to\u00a0move aggressively to redraw congressional district boundaries\u00a0this year.\u00a0Alabama and Tennessee\u00a0have already begun special sessions that could limit Black voters\u2019 strength in Democratic-leaning districts, and some of Trump\u2019s allies in South Carolina\u00a0want to follow suit.<\/p>\n
State Sen. Linda Rogers, one of the Indiana lawmakers who voted against redistricting and lost her seat Tuesday, said the outcome of this week\u2019s primary \u201cwill probably discourage others in other states.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf someone is going to ask you to take a tough vote, you may think twice about your conscience and what\u2019s best for your community and instead what\u2019s best for you and your career,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, who sided with Trump, said it was a \u201chistoric night\u201d and he thanked Republican voters who \u201cstood with me and President Trump to nominate some great America First conservatives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump started the redistricting competition<\/p>\n
Redistricting efforts began last year when Trump saw an opportunity to give Republicans an additional edge. Indiana stood out as a Republican-run state that declined to give Trump what he wanted, even as GOP- and Democratic-led states traded gerrymandering maneuvers in a national competition.<\/p>\n
After the Indiana Senate rejected the redistricting plan in December, Trump pledged to punish defiant lawmakers. His allies spent more than $8.3 million on races that usually see very little spending.<\/p>\n
Andy Zay, a state senator who voted for redistricting, resigned in January to become chair of a state utility commission. He was a target of harassment and threats in the months leading up to the vote, and he said Trump\u2019s influence and heavy spending made it tough for incumbents to hang on in the primaries.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrump matters and money matters,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Five of Trump\u2019s targets lost their races. One won. One race was too close to call.<\/p>\n
Trump allies celebrated the results and warned other Republicans who might be thinking of opposing the president.<\/p>\n
\u201cRedistrict ASAP for the November election or you face a real risk of losing your seat. No excuses,\u201d Robby Starbuck, a conservative activist, wrote on social media. \u201cReschedule primaries if you must but redraw the map. Voters demand action NOW, not weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Redistricting efforts were\u00a0supercharged last week\u00a0when the U.S. Supreme Court gutted a provision of the Voting Rights Act that influenced how political lines are drawn in areas with large nonwhite populations.<\/p>\n
James Blair, one of Trump\u2019s top political advisers, posted an image from the movie \u201cGladiator\u201d depicting Russell Crowe\u2019s ancient Roman character Maximus exulting after a combat victory.<\/p>\n
In Congress, Massie and Cassidy have stood up to Trump<\/p>\n
Trump himself was relatively restrained on social media. He shared a series of photos celebrating the victories of candidates he endorsed in Indiana and Ohio, which also held primaries Tuesday. But he otherwise passed on boasting or renewing his attacks on Massie or Cassidy.<\/p>\n
Massie has been among the members of Congress who frustrated the president by pressing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein case files, challenging Trump for taking military action in Iran without congressional approval, and voting against the party\u2019s sweeping tax-and-budget bill last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI vote with the Republican Party and this president 90% of the time, and the 10% of the time that I\u2019m not voting with the party or the president, I\u2019m keeping the promises that the president and I campaigned on,\u201d Massie recently told Kentucky\u2019s PBS affiliate.<\/p>\n
Explaining his vote against Trump\u2019s signature domestic achievement, Massie called it \u201ca big spending bill\u201d and said he has voted consistently \u201cnot to bankrupt this country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump has endorsed Massie\u2019s challenger, retired Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, and campaigned for him before the May 19 primary. In Louisiana, Trump backs Rep. Julie Letlow over Cassidy in their May 16 primary, which includes a third candidate, state Treasurer John Fleming.<\/p>\n
Cassidy was among the Republican senators who voted to convict Trump on 2021 impeachment charges after the Jan. 6 riot. But he also has given Trump consistent support. Most notably, the Baton Rouge physician advanced Robert Kennedy Jr.\u2019s controversial nomination as Trump\u2019s health secretary.<\/p>\n
The two-term incumbent is campaigning aggressively against Trump\u2019s chosen candidate without mentioning the president in his attacks on Letlow.<\/p>\n
\u201cSen. Cassidy is running like he\u2019s 10 points down and is pounding the pavement every day,\u201d Cassidy campaign manager Katie Larkin said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., noted Wednesday that Trump has gone after Massie before, only for the congressman to win reelection.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas Massie has been very popular in his district,\u201d McCarthy said during a \u201cFox & Friends\u201d interview. Still, he warned, it is not an ideal situation for any Republican to run without Trump\u2019s backing.<\/p>\n
Indiana shows how far Trump will go to purge GOP<\/p>\n
It is unusual for a sitting president to be focused on attacking and defeating his own party members this deep into a midterm election year. And it\u2019s yielded notable spending that is not directed at Democrats. In Louisiana, Letlow, Cassidy, and other campaign organizations have plowed more than $28 million into attack ads.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of dollars spent on taking on fellow Republicans,\u201d said Marc Short, who worked for former Vice President Mike Pence, a onetime Indiana governor.<\/p>\n
Short said it wasn\u2019t clear that Trump\u2019s involvement would help Republicans\u2019 chances in November.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019ve been questions before, when he engages in these inner-party contests, will they work out as well when we get to the general election?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rogers, the Indiana state senator, faced almost $670,000 in television ads against her, funded by political action committees associated with Braun and U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind.<\/p>\n
Yet even in defeat, she said she does not regret her vote against redistricting.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would have been easy for me to hit that \u2018yes\u2019 button,\u201d she said. \u201cTo hear the number of people who asked me not to, then the number of people who thanked me, would mean I wasn\u2019t representing them.\u201d<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa, and Barrow from Atlanta.<\/p>\n
#Republicans #fear #midterms #Trump #enacting #retribution #strays #MAGA #path<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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