President Donald Trump has escalated an intraparty fight in Indiana, endorsing primary challengers to several Republican state senators who broke with party leadership to block a late-year effort to redraw the state’s congressional map.
In a series of posts on his Truth Social platform Tuesday, Trump backed challengers against three GOP incumbents — state Sens. Spencer Deery, Greg Goode, and Eric Bassler — following the Indiana Senate’s December vote in which 21 Republicans joined Democrats to reject a redistricting proposal aimed at strengthening the party’s position ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Trump endorsed Paula Copenhaver, a top aide to Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, to challenge Deery. He also backed Vigo County Council member Brenda Wilson in a primary challenge against Goode. For Bassler’s seat, Trump endorsed former state Rep. Jeff Ellington. Bassler has already announced he will not seek reelection.
The failed measure would have altered Indiana’s congressional districts to improve Republican prospects in U.S. House races, with party leaders arguing the changes could yield additional seats, noted The Hill. Trump and his allies have portrayed the Senate’s rejection as a strategic blunder at a moment when map-drawing fights are intensifying nationwide.
Trump took particular aim at Goode, who also serves as state director for U.S. Sen. Todd Young, writing on Truth Social: “‘No Goode’ is an incompetent and ineffective RINO incumbent who, for whatever reason, voted against Redistricting in Indiana, which has made him a hero to Hakeem Jeffries, Ilhan Omar, and every other Radical Left Member of the U.S. House of Representatives.”
Trump has repeatedly vowed to support primary challengers against any Republican lawmakers who opposed the Indiana map, framing the issue as central to maintaining GOP leverage in Congress. Earlier, he endorsed a challenger to state Sen. Jim Buck, another opponent of the proposal who is seeking reelection.
The endorsements underscore lingering tensions within the Indiana Republican Party following the Senate’s rejection of the redistricting plan — a vote that has drawn national attention as Republicans look to defend and potentially expand their House majority in 2026.
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