President Donald Trump is waging political warfare against Indiana Republicans who did not vote for gerrymandering — but he is meeting opposition from members of his own party.
“Even though Indiana state Senate leader Rodric Bray isn’t on anyone’s primary ballot next week, he is the ultimate target of President Donald Trump’s demand for political retribution,” the Indiana Capital Chronicle reported on Thursday. “Seven Republican senators who voted in December against redrawing Indiana’s U.S. House district maps are facing Trump-endorsed challengers backed by millions of dollars in spending by national pro-redistricting groups.”
Bray, who spoke with the Chronicle about the subject, expressed disappointment with the president’s actions.
“It was a very, very challenging session in December, and those votes were hard, and the folks that voted against it, I know, are now under a massive attack from Washington, D.C, and elsewhere in the nation,” Bray told the Chronicle. “I just would hate to see those people lose because of the will of somebody outside the state of Indiana.”
The Chronicle specifically mentioned that Trump vowed in January to “take out” Bray, arguing that “we’re after you Bray, like no one has ever come after you before!”
Perhaps surprisingly for Bray, though, he is receiving support from members of his own party. Half a dozen other Republican state senators in Indiana also voted against gerrymandering and, because they do not face election this year, have directed roughly $300,000 from their own campaign funds. One of the highest ranking Republican lawmakers in Indiana explained exactly why they are doing this – and why he has personally contributed more than $100,000 to Bray’s campaign.
“It kind of makes me want to throw up to think of what good I could have done for mental health and other things with the amount of money that’s just been spent on advertising and things both directions,” Sen. Mike Crider of Greenfield told The Chronicle. “We’ve gotten the Washington influence here in the state now and we’re going to deal with it.”
Local Republican opposition is not the only variable stymieing Trump. A recent report by Politico revealed that although Trump pledged to primary out the eight Indiana Republican state senators who opposed his gerrymandering, his efforts are starting to run out of steam. Although Trump intended for their removal “to be a major show of force,” in fact “after millions of dollars spent and weeks of intense campaigning, his allies are still struggling to deliver a clear, consistent message” on why Republican voters should replace the Indiana lawmakers.
“Good question, um. Gosh, okay, defining issue. What’s it about?” state Rep. Michelle Davis told Politico when asked what their defining issue was in opposing their primary opponents.
“Well, what I say, what it’s about is, that we need real, true conservatives out there,” Davis replied. “We need someone who’s going to stand with the GOP party and the conservative people, the primary voters on stuff like common sense, stuff like making sure that boys aren’t in girls locker rooms, boys don’t play in girls sports, making sure that we stand up for parental rights, yeah, those are the kind of the defining things I think are out there.”