Politics

Trump’s Revenge Primary Is Today. Seven GOP Senators Are His Targets.

By Mike Harper · May 5, 2026

President Trump has endorsed primary challengers against seven sitting Republican state senators in Indiana today. If his picks win, it sends a message to every Republican legislator in the country about what happens when you vote against him. If they lose, it sends a different message entirely.

An estimated $9 million in advertising has been spent by national groups working to carry out Trump’s vow of political vengeance against Republican state senators who voted against his push to redraw Indiana’s congressional maps. NBC News puts the figure even higher — $11.8 million according to AdImpact, a staggering escalation from the less than $500,000 spent on all Indiana Senate ads across the entire 2024 election cycle.

The seven state senators targeted by Trump voted last year against redrawing Indiana’s congressional districts to create additional Republican-leaning seats. Trump, who won Indiana by 28 points in 2024, viewed that vote as a direct act of defiance. He rarely endorses against sitting members of his own party — but in Indiana he is targeting seven of them simultaneously.

The primary also tests two congressional incumbents. Rep. Jim Baird, 80, faces state Rep. Craig Haggard in the 4th District — Baird carrying Trump’s endorsement, Haggard carrying the backing of state Attorney General Todd Rokita and more than 100 local officials.

Hoosier Leadership for America, aligned with Republican Sen. Jim Banks, is the top outside spender with nearly $5 million in ads. America Leadership PAC, run by a top adviser to Donald Trump Jr. and JD Vance, has added more than $3 million. The ads have featured one incumbent senator’s face superimposed on a roll of soft toilet paper.

What makes today’s results consequential extends well beyond Indiana. The 2026 midterms are shaping up as a referendum on Trump at a moment when his approval rating has hit its lowest point of either term. In Ohio, more people have already voted using Democratic primary ballots than Republican, by a roughly 11% margin — even in a state Trump won by 11 points in 2024.

How his endorsed candidates perform tonight in deep-red Indiana will tell the national Republican Party something important about whether his endorsement remains the dominant force it was in 2022 — or whether a 62% disapproval rating has started to matter even in his strongest states.

Results are expected throughout the evening.