President Donald Trump’s grip on the Republican Party was reaffirmed during Indiana’s state elections, which saw several of the president’s preferred candidates beat out state Senate incumbents.
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. The president’s victory spells trouble for two other Republicans who have drawn his ire: Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY).
Trump has endorsed one of Cassidy’s GOP challengers, Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA), as well as Massie’s primary opponent, Ed Gallrein. The targeting has already complicated their reelection paths and could spell doom if the pattern witnessed in Indiana repeats itself.
“Last night was a test,” Republican strategist Jay Townsend told the Washington Examiner. “The answer is now evident, and I could say Louisiana and Kentucky are not Indiana, but based upon what I saw last night, I would guess that Massie and Cassidy are probably a little less confident today than they may have been yesterday.”
John Feehery, another Republican strategist, said the Indiana primaries show that Trump’s word is still “gold” for Republican primary voters.
Cassidy’s primary is scheduled for May 16, while Massie’s will be on May 19.
The long-standing feud between Trump and Cassidy dates back to the Louisiana senator’s vote to convict him during his second impeachment trial over the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. More recently, Trump blamed Cassidy for blocking his surgeon general pick, Casey Means, and forcing him to withdraw her nomination.
Massie has also been a thorn in Trump’s side during his second term, often breaking with the Republican Party during major legislative fights. Partnering with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), Massie forced the release of the Epstein files through a discharge petition, which has plagued Trump since his return to the White House.
Trump has blasted Massie as the “Republican Party’s Worst ‘Congressman,’” saying he hopes he loses “big.” Despite the president’s attacks, Massie is banking on his name ID to push him across the finish line in his primary.
Feehery said that Massie’s own brand “definitely works in his own favor,” and might encourage voters who are not necessarily stalwart Republican primary voters and dislike Trump to vote in the primary election.
“If Massie wins, it’ll be a significant case of how you are able to oppose Trump and yet win Republican primaries,” Feehery said. “Those cases have been few and far between. So he would be doing something that’s pretty politically unique.”
Still, Townsend told the Washington Examiner that Indiana’s primaries would likely “give any Republican incumbent pause about crossing Trump.”
“He proved last night that doing that endangers your career in politics,” Townsend said.
Tuesday’s results were celebrated by the president’s allies, especially Club for Growth Action President David McIntosh, whose organization spent $2 million to help oust state Sens. Dan Dernulc, Linda Rogers, Travis Holdman, Jim Buck, and Greg Walker. The race between Trump-backed Paula Copenhaver and state Sen. Spencer Deery was too close to call.
“Club for Growth Action is proud to stand with President Trump and Indiana voters against the RINOs,” said Club for Growth Action President David McIntosh. “The candidates who failed to support the President’s plan to hold Congress and save the country are now being held accountable.”
Only state Sen. Greg Goode survived Tuesday night, defeating a challenge from Trump-backed Brenda Wilson.
Despite the near wipeout in Indiana, Feehery said that Massie’s and Cassidy’s races are not “done deals.”
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“I think obviously you can make the case that this doesn’t bode well for those campaigns, but I wouldn’t necessarily write them off yet,” Feehery said, explaining that Kentucky and Louisiana are politically different from Indiana.
“Those are different elections, really, because one, you have the state senators, who don’t have a big fundraising base, and are not — they’re probably well known in their communities, but they probably didn’t have the resources of the Trump armada,” Feehery said. “Both Cassidy and Massie have their own resources and ability to fight their own messages.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Cassidy and Massie for comment.