As RedState reported Wednesday morning, six Indiana state senators had a terrible night on Tuesday. One survived and maintained their seat; one is still too close to call, but the other six were dismissed quickly.
WATCH:
Watching the RINOs in Indiana go down like the Titanic last night was the best night of TV since the 2024 election! pic.twitter.com/5WmwxWS9jZ
— Vince Langman (@LangmanVince) May 6, 2026
More of the post-mortem.
Last night was a good one for President Trump in Indiana. 6 of 8 anti-redistricting GOP incumbents in the state Senate lost, with Trump having endorsed 5 of the challengers.
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) May 6, 2026
Just 1 incumbent survived, while another is in a race that's too close to call. pic.twitter.com/KDKsqC0vJd
State District 23 challenger Paula Copenhaver is in that tight race against incumbent Spencer Deery. However, Copenhaver is confident that once all the ballots are counted, she will give Trump another victory.
After all provisional ballots are counted, we will prevail and be declared the winner of this race.
— Paula Copenhaver for Indiana (@PaulaCopenhaver) May 6, 2026
I want to thank President Donald Trump for his unwavering support and endorsement. President Trump is the leader of our party, and it showed clearly tonight in his victories…
President Donald Trump backed five of those challengers, and the voters spoke. That should be the story. Instead, the too-late and too-wrong pundits are painting it as petulance, revenge, and retribution.
They can cry harder.
Dive Deeper: The Trump Effect: Many of the IN State Senators Who Refused to Redistrict Met the Electoral Axe
Breaking: Indiana Republicans Betray Trump on Redistricting, Reject Map Favorable to GOP
District 19 Senate incumbent Travis Holdman lost to Trump-backed candidate Blake Fiechter and decided to serve some whine on his way out the door.
WATCH:
Republican State Senator Travis Holdman — who lost by over 20 points — isn’t taking it very well.
— ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) May 6, 2026
“Revenge & retribution is not a Christian value.”
All you had to do was listen to your constituents. pic.twitter.com/CW41WrS7Fo
Holdman clearly learned nothing from this. He said:
Well, I have one lesson for people: revenge and retribution is not a Christian value. And that's what this is all about. And I'm not bitter about it, it's just a fact. And there's life after serving in the Indiana Senate, and I'm going to find out what that's like.
Just amazing. Holdman held the District 19 seat for 18 years. That's a long time to do a lot of good. If this race was any indication, he may not have been doing that; so, his constituents had good reason to give him his walking papers. Not only had Holdman apparently stayed too long at the fair, but when his people wanted him to deliver on redistricting, he failed.
But instead of acknowledging this failure, he decided to lecture. "Revenge and retribution" had nothing to do with him losing the District 19 seat. Holdman failed to recognize that being elected as a state lawmaker means that you work for the people, not for your political power.
The architect of this failure, State Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, has more than egg on his face: Governor of Indiana Mike Braun is calling for him to step down.
BREAKING: @GovBraun says @bray_rodric should step down from leadership after the Indiana primaries, calling the vote last night, "a harbinger" and calls Bray, "a wet blanket."@realDonaldTrump @TPUSA @tpaction @93wibc
— Tony Katz (@tonykatz) May 6, 2026
Elections have consequences. Let's hope other Republicans who have thus far failed to get with the program are taking notes.