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President Donald Trump’s immense sway over the GOP was on the line Tuesday in Indiana’s primary, as the president’s endorsements in key Republican state Senate nomination races were being tested.
And it appears Trump’s grip over the Republican Party remains extremely strong.
Five months ago, Republicans in the GOP-dominated Indiana state Senate withstood immense pressure from Trump and his allies and voted down congressional redistricting, which would have given solidly red Indiana two more right-leaning U.S. House seats ahead of the midterms.
Fast-forward to present day, and eight of those state senators faced GOP primary challenges. Seeking retribution, the president endorsed challengers to seven of the eight Republican lawmakers who voted against the redistricting bill.
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The Associated Press reported that five of the Trump-endorsed candidates won, with one incumbent survived, and one race yet to be decided as of late Tuesday evening.
Trump-backed Blake Fletcher defeated incumbent state Sen. Travis Holdman in Indiana’s 19th District, in the northeastern part of the state. And Michelle Davis, who was supported by the president, topped incumbent Sen. Greg Walker in District 41 in central Indiana.
Tracey Powell, who was also supported by Trump, defeated incumbent state Sen. Jim Buck in District 21 in central Indiana. Buck was backed by former Vice President Mike Pence, who was elected congressman and later governor of Indiana before serving as Trump’s first vice president.
In District 11 in northern Indiana, incumbent Linda Rogers was defeated by Trump-endorsed Brian Schmutzler.
And the AP also reported that in northwestern Indiana’s District 1, Trump-supported Trevor De Vries topped incumbent state Sen. Dan Dernulc.
Only one state senator had survived as of late Tuesday. Sen. Greg Goode defeated two challengers, Trump-backed Brenda Wilson and Alexandra Wilson, in District 38, in western Indiana.
Meanwhile, in District 39, Trump-backed Jeff Ellington won the GOP nomination in an open-seat race where there was no incumbent.
A Republican source familiar with the effort to defeat the incumbent GOP state Senators told Fox News Digital over $8 million was spent on TV and digital ads between the American Leadership PAC and Hoosier Leadership for America. Those are the two outside groups aligned with GOP Sen. Jim Banks of Indiana, a top ally of the president in the U.S. Senate, that took a lead in targeting the incumbent state senators and supporting the Trump-backed challengers.
The source added that Team Trump operatives began organizing this plan in February and were responsible for the vast majority of the money raised that was spent by the two groups.
“Everyone in Indiana politics should have learned an important lesson today: President Trump is the single most popular Republican among Hoosier voters. Indiana is a conservative state, and we deserve conservatives in our State Senate who have a pulse on Republican voters,” Banks said in a statement.
Republican Gov. Mike Braun of Indiana also donated several hundred thousand dollars to the effort.
Two well known national groups: Turning Point USA’s political wing and the Club for Growth, also had the president’s back in Indiana.
The intraparty battle was seen not just as a test of fealty to Trump but rather a fight between MAGA forces and more traditional conservatives for the future of the GOP.
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“We’ve got to change those old-style Republicans, put in people who will fight, fight against the Democrat gerrymandering,” Club for Growth President David McIntosh told Fox News Digital ahead of the primary.
And McIntosh, a former congressman from Indiana, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday night that “this is a big win for Trump and a signal to the entire party that our base wants us to fight for what we believe in.”
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The besieged incumbents significantly outraised their challengers, and were also boosted by the Indiana Senate GOP caucus.
But the outside spending and get-out-the-vote efforts by the pro-Trump groups proved decisive.
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A source involved in the effort to oust the incumbents told Fox News Digital on the eve of the primary that a victory would be considered winning half the seats, and anything beyond that would be a major win.
By that definition, Trump scored a ‘major win’ on Tuesday.
Fox News’ Sally Persons contributed to this story
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