President Donald Trump’s influence over the Republican Party was reaffirmed Tuesday, when five of the Indiana state senators he targeted in primary elections lost to Trump-backed challengers. The outcome, fueled by more than $8.3 million in spending from groups allied with the president, delivered a stark warning to GOP lawmakers who distance themselves from the White House as the party grows anxious about the November midterms.
The seven Republican senators — all representing districts Trump carried by 20 percentage points or more in 2024 — drew the president’s ire by rejecting a congressional redistricting plan he pushed in December. In response, Trump endorsed primary opponents and his allies poured an extraordinary sum into races that are normally low-profile. One incumbent survived; a seventh race was too close to call Tuesday night, but the president’s preferred candidates won most of the contests.
“Historic night for Indiana as Republicans stood with me and President Trump to nominate some great America First conservatives,” Republican Gov. Mike Braun, who backed the challengers, wrote on social media.
Ohio’s primaries locked in high-stakes matchups for the fall. Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who had stockpiled record funds from tech industry connections and aligned himself closely with Trump, easily defeated YouTube provocateur Casey Putsch for the Republican nomination for governor. Ramaswamy largely bypassed his primary rival, focusing rallies and television ads on the general election against Democrat Amy Acton, the former state public health director who ran unopposed and played a central role in Ohio’s COVID-19 response.
In the special U.S. Senate election to fill the final two years of Vice President JD Vance’s term, Democrat Sherrod Brown won his party’s nomination. Brown, who lost his other Senate seat in 2024 by less than 4 points in a state Trump carried by 11, will challenge appointed Republican Sen. Jon Husted. Democrats see the race as essential to any path to a Senate majority.
In central Michigan, Democrat Chedrick Greene won a special state Senate election, denying Republicans a chance to deadlock the chamber and extending a streak of Democratic victories in off-year contests. Greene’s win in a district that Harris carried by less than a point gave Democrats a firm 20-18 majority in the chamber, which had been vacant for more than a year after former Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet resigned for a seat in Congress. The result is the latest data point in a trend that has energized Democrats and rattled Republicans: since Trump returned to the White House, special elections have swung almost universally toward Democrats, even in narrowly divided territory.
Tuesday’s results do not guarantee a repeat in the higher-turnout midterms, but they entrenched a picture that is becoming increasingly familiar. The president still commands the GOP’s base, and Democrats are finding ways to win races that were out of reach just a few years ago.