It’s a gloomy April day, and a small group of people has gathered at a park in West Lafayette to hear organizer Scott Presler.
“In Janaury I said I would come to Indiana to hold accountable any Republican state senator who was not being a true conservative voice,” Presler told the group. “I kept my promise.”
He’s here on behalf of Turning Point USA, one of the national conservative organizations that is trying to unseat Indiana Republicans who voted against President Donald Trump in December.
It’s an effort that will be a test of Trump’s power.
Senate Republicans voted against Trump’s redistricting plan last year, choosing not to approve new legislative maps that could have given Republicans additional seats in Congress.
The president vowed to primary all who had opposed him.
Presler joined a rally of roughly 20 Hoosiers to promote Paula Copenhaver against incumbent Sen. Spencer Deery (R-West Lafayette). Speaking with reporters, Presler said Republicans at the state and national level need to act like the GOP.
“We are a trifecta Republican state government. We have the House, we have the Senate, we have the governorship, and yet our Republican State Senate is not acting like true conservatives and is incapable of putting forth Governor Braun's agenda,” Presler said.
It’s a sentiment that Copenhaver echoed, arguing that the failure of Indiana Republicans to vote for redistricting could have national political consequences and stop Trump’s efforts to “save our Republic”.
“It could be the difference between a majority in Washington, D.C. for the Republicans or not, and when we have the power to do good, and we don't, shame on us for not playing by the same rules that our opponent plays by,” she said.
Copenhaver said her opposition to Deery is bigger than just one vote. The two faced each other in 2022 for the seat, and Copenhaver contends he hasn’t done a good job at representing rural concerns.
But Deery’s vote against redistricting has undeniably boosted Copenhaver’s campaign. Earlier this year, she was invited to the White House to meet with President Trump.
Copenhaver said she does not usually get star-struck, but recalled getting sweaty hands when she realized she’d be meeting the President.
At that meeting, Copenhaver said the President was genuine and found it humbling to hear that Trump was paying attention to her race because of redistricting.
“He was very straightforward and direct about the issue, and he told us that we have his support and that we're going to win,” she said.
Experts say it’s unusual for a U.S. President to become as involved in state races as Trump has this year, particularly during a midterm.
“The President sometimes will get into, certainly, congressional races, and even on occasion, we've seen presidents enter the fray with regards to gubernatorial races at a state level,” said Laura Merrifield Wilson, a political science professor at the University of Indianapolis. “For State Senate races in a state in which the President has no personal or meaningful connection is incredibly unusual.”
Wilson said what’s interesting about Trump’s push to redistrict is how unpopular it’s been for both Republicans and Democrats across the country. Even in Virginia, where voters recently approved new maps favoring Democrats, it was passed on a relatively thin margin.
“I think it just speaks to how unfortunate the whole process is,” Wilson said. “You spend a lot of money, a lot of time, a lot of resources, a tremendous amount of political capital on behalf of so many individuals. And at the end of the day, you may have just canceled out the number of new Democratic seats to the number of new Republican seats.”
Outside groups at the national level have committed millions to help Copenhaver and other primary challengers win in Indiana. She said she doesn’t have much control over those ads and what they say.
According to Indiana Campaign Finance reports, Deery is outspending Copenhaver nearly fifty to one. But Deery told WFYI, outside PAC spending on Copenhaver’s behalf is already well over $1 million.
Deery said his campaign cost roughly $140,000 in its entirety in 2022. His most recent campaign finance reports show expenditures of more than half a million.
“Spencer Deery’s campaign is bankrolled by corporate and union PACs. I’m not beholden to anyone, I won’t be a bought and paid for politician,” Copenhaver said when reached for comment on the ads bought on her behalf.
Like Copenhaver, Deery also describes this fight over redistricting as an existential one.
“I think we do need to have some tough conversations as conservatives, because I think that there are a lot of things that have been pushed around the country and excused as conservativism that really aren't, that are more about just winning,” he said.
Deery said if Republicans lose the House in November, it won’t be because of Indiana’s decision not to redistrict and will instead speak to bad policy decisions at the national level - particularly a failure to address affordability issues.
Deery, who sees himself as a strong conservative, said some of Trump’s endorsements have gone to more moderate Republicans - showing a broader voting record isn’t important.
“So clearly, it is not about who's with him, who's conservative, who's not a conservative. Is it about one issue,” he said.
But it’s an issue that has ultimately divided Indiana Republicans, with the Indiana House overwhelmingly supporting redistricting. During the debate, Republicans in the Senate repeatedly argued their voters did not support redrawing the state’s maps.
Because of that, Deery said he stands by his vote. And as for the primary, he said if he loses, the election will show that Washington outsiders can push Indiana elected officials around.
“It is not about me, it's about intimidating Indiana's elected officials into listening to outside voices, not Hoosiers,” he said. “And that should concern anybody, no matter their politics.”
Indiana’s primary election is May 5.
Contact Government Reporter Benjamin Thorp at bthorp@wfyi.org
