President Trump has endorsed challengers to ensure support for his policies, despite the risk of displacing incumbents with narrow Republican margins in both the House and Senate.
Trump-backed Indiana Senate candidate wins primary
President Donald Trump continued to exert influence in Indiana’s Republican primary. At least five of the seven Republican senators he opposed lost the nomination.
WASHINGTON – With President Donald Trump losing at least five Republican state senators in Indiana that he deemed disloyal, the question is whether he can wield as much influence in this month’s Republican primaries for Congress and governor.
Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger of Georgia each drew Trump’s ire in different ways. But the common element is that even though President Trump is interested in maintaining narrow Republican majorities in the House and Senate, he wants to replace them with Republicans he considers more trustworthy.
John Pitney Jr., a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College in California, said the Indiana results confirmed Trump’s grip on the Republican Party.
“Sometimes a Republican politician can get past him and survive, but usually that’s not the case,” Pitney told USA TODAY. “If you’re a Republican who has questions about President Trump, you have a strong incentive to keep those questions locked away.”
Karen Hult, a political science professor at Virginia Tech, said the campaign likely has little to say about gas, food and health care costs, as long as the race is seen as a “one-shot ‘retaliation’ or ‘payback race’ in safe Republican districts.”
“Certainly, in the short term, President Trump and his Republican allies have and will continue to emphasize his victory and strong support among Republican voters, while also emphasizing the risks to those who oppose or may disrupt the president’s leadership,” Hult told USA TODAY.
Trump-backed challengers defeat at least five Republican state senators in Indiana
In Indiana, President Trump has endorsed seven Republican challengers working to defeat state senators who opposed the president’s efforts to redraw congressional districts for Hoosiers. In each case, President Trump called the incumbent a “loser” and a Republican in name only. Those were bargains to oppose his map, which would give Republican advantages to all nine House seats in the delegation, which currently has two Democrats.
Five of the state senators lost, one survived, and the other remains close and undecided.
This result shows President Trump’s polarizing effect. A Washington Post, ABC News, and Ipsos poll conducted from April 24 to April 28 found the president’s disapproval rating at 62%, a record high. But the same poll of 2,560 adults found that 85% of Republican voters approve of the president’s job.
“Trump may not be as popular in my district as he once was, but he’s still overwhelmingly popular,” State Sen. Spencer Deary, whose race was far from decided, told CNN during vote counting.
Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said he knows Republicans are “moving closer to selectively criticizing Trump on things like war and inflation,” but said the loss in Indiana was scary.
“It’s a survival instinct for politicians who are going to vote in November,” Sabato told USA TODAY. “I guarantee you they took a step back after Indiana.”
Massey opposes President Trump on tax cut bill, Iran war, Epstein lawsuit
Mr. Massey has opposed Mr. Trump on several high-profile issues. He voted against the president’s tax cuts last year. Massey led the legislative fight to force the release of Justice Department documents related to the investigation into sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. And Massi voted to halt the war against Iran.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly criticized Mr. Massey in social media posts and visited his Kentucky campaign trail in March to campaign for his primary opponent.
“He’s the worst human being,” President Trump said of Massey at a March rally in support of Ed Galine in Hebron, Kentucky. “Massey is an absolutely terrible member of Congress and, frankly, a terrible person.”
Massey led Gallane in polls for the May 19 primary. Pitney said Massie may be one of the survivors of Trump’s ire because he is more conservative than the president and “even more Trump than Trump.”
Cassidy votes to convict Trump in Senate impeachment trial
Cassidy was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump in his second Senate impeachment trial on charges of inciting the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. Trump was acquitted by a vote of 57-43, lacking a two-thirds majority.
Most recently, Mr. Cassidy, a physician, berated Mr. Trump’s nominee for Surgeon General, Casey Means, for his lack of support for vaccines, forcing her to withdraw.
In an April 30 social media post, President Trump called Cassidy “a very dishonest person” and said “Cassidy’s hardline stance and political gamesmanship” had prevented Means from winning the job.
Trump endorsed Cassidy’s main opponent, Representative Julia Letlow, as an “outright winner” on her support for energy development and lower taxes and regulations.
Hult expected Massey and Cassidy to face headwinds. But what’s less clear is how much loyalty and support they enjoy in each state, and whether fellow Republicans who share concerns about “national security, economic management and other issues” will support them, she said.
Raffensperger rejects Trump’s request to ‘find’ votes to win 2020 election
Raffensperger is running for governor, rejecting Trump’s request to “find” enough votes to win the state he lost to President Joe Biden in 2020.
Raffensperger told USA TODAY in October 2024 that he expected pressure to come “from political advocates on both sides of the aisle.”
“I think I’ve shown that I will stand my ground. I will abide by the law,” he said. “I follow the Constitution. I do my job.”
In January 2021, President Trump repeatedly accused Raffensperger of neglecting his job and claiming without evidence that thousands of fraudulent votes were cast.
On August 3, 2024, President Trump said on social media, “Brad Raffensperger needs to do his job and make sure this election isn’t stolen. I truly believe they’d rather see Republicans lose than win!” In another post, President Trump said of Raffensperger and others:
President Trump endorsed Lieutenant Governor Bert Jones in Georgia’s May 19 primary, calling him a “warrior” for economic growth, tax cuts, and border security.
But Sabato said it would take extraordinary luck for Massey, Cassidy and Raffensperger to win in the primary.
“There are always surprises, and there are occasional exceptions to the rule, but if they survive Trump’s wrath, these three will be on par with multi-state lottery winners,” Sabato said.
