{"id":2599459,"date":"2026-05-06T12:38:56","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T16:38:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-voters-dont-want-mike-pences-republican-party\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T12:45:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T16:45:44","slug":"gop-voters-dont-want-mike-pences-republican-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-voters-dont-want-mike-pences-republican-party\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP Voters Don\u2019t Want Mike Pence\u2019s Republican Party"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgop-voters-dont-want-mike-pences-republican-party%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2599459&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Indiana\u2019s Republican primaries produced major upheaval: Trump-backed challenges defeated six of eight anti-redistricting GOP state-senate incumbents by wide margins,while one race is nearly decided and likely headed to a recount. Indiana gov. Mike Braun and Sen. Jim Banks publicly pressed Senate leadership-including asking Rodric bray to step down-after the losses, and the party apparatus largely failed to hold seats despite heavy spending aimed at protecting incumbents.<\/p>\n<p>The article argues the results reflect more than loyalty to Trump. In down-ballot races without Trump on the ballot, more conservative challengers also won, sometimes against local GOP officials and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tammy-murphys-campaign-manager-exits-as-the-campaign-struggles-to-keep-momentum\/\" title=\"Tammy Murphy&#039;s campaign manager departs amidst momentum challenges\">party-backed candidates<\/a>. It cites examples like South Bend-area councilwoman Amy Drake winning by emphasizing pragmatic conservatism and rejecting unpopular corporate-backed policies,and defeating a Republican who had aligned with Democrats despite being backed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-connected-lobbying-outfit-teams-up-with-leading-chinese-law-firm\/\" title=\"Biden...Connected Lobbying Outfit Teams Up with Leading Chinese Law Firm\">local party structures<\/a>. Similar dynamics are described in Fort Wayne, where state Sen. Liz Brown (endorsed by Trump) is narrowly opposed, suggesting that endorsement alone wasn\u2019t enough to overcome concerns about her stances on immigration enforcement, gun carry, and other culture-war issues.<\/p>\n<p>the piece frames the primaries as a contest between an insurgent, more conservative wing of the Indiana GOP (including figures like Banks, Braun, and Turning Point USA Action) and an establishment-aligned wing accused of neglecting grassroots priorities and safeguarding incumbency over policy outcomes.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Indiana Republican primary voters netted dramatic changes up and down ballots Tuesday, kicking out a wave of establishment-allied incumbents while reinforcing many incumbent conservatives against party-backed challengers from their left. The headlines focused on eight Republican state senators who faced primary challengers backed by President Donald Trump for failing to redistrict the state to combat Democrat-run states\u2019 rampant gerrymandering of congressional districts.<\/p>\n<p>At this writing, by large margins six of the eight Senate challengers have kicked out the anti-redistricting incumbents, including members of senior GOP state leadership. One of the remaining incumbents kept his seat, probably thanks in large part to a low-quality challenger, and the other race is too close to call with a margin of only a few votes, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2026-primary-elections\/indiana-state-senate-results\">according to NBC<\/a>, and probably headed to a recount.<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p>Indiana Gov. Mike Braun and U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, both vocal and in Banks\u2019 case large financial supporters of the primary challengers, have <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/tonykatz\/status\/2051986137703493843\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">called<\/a> for state Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray to <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Jim_Banks\/status\/2051840767824449890\">step down<\/a> due to the electoral slaughter of his coalition. Indiana\u2019s Republican Party, both at state and county levels, spent big to attack more conservative candidates, and most of that spending failed to protect their incumbents.<\/p>\n<p>The Indiana Senate Majority Campaign Committee, <a href=\"https:\/\/insenategop.com\/members\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">run<\/a> by Bray, lost two of its steering members to primary challengers Tuesday, including Majority Caucus Chair Travis Holdman. Its largest primary expenditure this year of $600,000, <a href=\"https:\/\/preview.mailerlite.io\/emails\/webview\/2118369\/185453173593343247\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according to<\/a> the Indiana Family Association\u2019s Micah Clark, attempted to protect Sen. Spencer Deery, whose race is currently within three votes of a loss.<\/p>\n<p>Its second-biggest spend, $492,000, went to Sen. Linda Rogers, whom Clark noted has a \u201cfairly conservative voting record,\u201d yet she lost by 18 points Tuesday. These two races alone sucked up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wthr.com\/article\/news\/politics\/indiana-senate-republicans-face-trump-retribution-brian-howey\/531-76d2682c-b7cd-4c98-8214-9f87e58e468b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nearly half<\/a> the SMCC\u2019s financial stockpile as of the end of 2025, when the Indiana Senate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/indiana-redistricting-vote-fails-senate-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tanked<\/a> redistricting efforts.<\/p>\n<p>Yet that\u2019s not all. The Indiana primaries were not solely about Trump as a figure, as corporate media in and out of state are framing the story, but about the kind of Republican Party its voters want. <\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>Wrong lesson. Republican voters chose Trump because they were tired of feeling like their leadership had no interest in beating the Democrats. They were tired of feeling like even when they won, they lost.<\/p>\n<p>This shellacking tonight didn\u2019t happen because of Trump. His candidates\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wBab6rMtsF\">https:\/\/t.co\/wBab6rMtsF<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u2014 Megan Basham (@megbasham) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/megbasham\/status\/2051884977134969111?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 6, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>You can see that down ballot. In other races that did not include the Trump factor, more conservative candidates also scored wins in the primaries, often while fighting against their own local and state Republican parties.<\/p>\n<p>South Bend-area County Councilwoman Amy Drake <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wndu.com\/2026\/05\/06\/amy-drake-wins-republican-primary-st-joseph-county-council-district-b\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">won<\/a> her primary against a Republican challenger who had access to huge amounts of money for a local race, spending what Drake says is some $200,000 to fly in out-of-state door-knockers and airplane banner ads. (Drake is an occasional <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/amydrake\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">contributor to The Federalist<\/a>.) Drake sparked her challenger by not only voting against the unpopular expansion of taxpayer-subsidized data centers in her greater Chicagoland locale, but also by governing as a prudent conservative rather than a patsy for the usual corporate interests.<\/p>\n<p>She first took office in the purple area opposing stringent Covid lockdown measures pushed by local health officials. While re-awarding Drake her Republican seat, local voters kicked out an incumbent Republican councilman who has for the last year caucused with Democrats with backing from \u2026 the local Republican Party. Trump endorsed nobody in these local races, and yet voters still kicked out party-backed Republicans in favor of Drake and her ally Jamie O\u2019Brien.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese victories represent the second set of primaries launched against Republicans on the council since 2024,\u201d Drake wrote in her email newsletter Wednesday morning. \u201cThat we\u2019ve managed to beat the perpetrators for a second time in a row is certainly satisfying. These primary attacks were of course launched by the same people who now control the St. Joe County Republican party \u2014 why many of us good Rs no longer participate in their functions.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I think you\u2019re missing a broader point. This was bigger than Trump. The base voters were betrayed by these senators. We are tired of politicians who lose agreeably to more aggressive, less principled Dems. Much of the conservative movement is awake to this dynamic, and now these\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AndrewKolvet\/status\/2052016775793869184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 6, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Over in Fort Wayne, the state\u2019s second-largest city, a similar dynamic is underway, complicated by the surrounding county\u2019s appalling inability this year to deliver election results on election night. The Republican primary race between Trump-endorsed state Sen. Liz Brown and Banks-backed challenger Darren Vogt is currently <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RealHoosierPoli\/status\/2052018544259318038\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">within a hundred votes<\/a> and not fully counted as of this writing due to apparently poor election management.<\/p>\n<p>Even if Vogt loses, the race is a clear indicator that for local voters, these primary results are not wholly about Trump. If that were the case, the incumbent Trump endorsed solely for her <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/10\/16\/why-should-indiana-give-democrats-more-seats-than-massachusetts-gives-republicans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">very prominent support for redistricting<\/a> should have won with a large margin, like most of the other Trump-endorsed state senators have.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, Brown got electorally spanked, even if she ekes out a narrow win, by defecting from base voters\u2019 priorities through <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/12\/10\/gold-standard-immigration-enforcement-bill-lagging-in-indiana-as-redistricting-sucks-oxygen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">single-handedly blocking<\/a> a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >robust state immigration enforcement bill<\/a> for a year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/indiana\/article_231037c0-73d2-11ec-9de1-f7b71676a875.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">blocking <\/a>a constitutional carry bill, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wfft.com\/news\/longtime-fort-wayne-republican-faces-primary-fight-and-dark-money-is-already-flowing\/article_caabf71c-70c1-47d1-b340-e8f6bc8528db.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">voting against<\/a> a bill to protect girls from competing with cross-dressing males in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-psaki-pressed-about-girls-having-to-compete-against-trans-girls-dismisses-concerns\/\" title=\"WATCH: Psaki Pressed About Girls Having To Compete Against Trans Girls, Dismisses Concerns\">high school sports<\/a>. It\u2019s clear she\u2019s gotten the message, as she reversed herself on all these issues. In addition, Brown has been a strong pro-life ally for years, which certainly earned her base voters\u2019 loyalty, especially against a competitor her campaign says has used in-vitro fertilization.<\/p>\n<p>The point being, Trump\u2019s endorsement of Brown did not give her the massive victory margin other Trump-endorsed candidates achieved. This means a Trump endorsement has weight with Republican voters, but it\u2019s not always enough to offbalance other things they care about. That means that yes, while these election results are definitely a win for Trump, Banks, Braun, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, and Turning Point USA Action \u2014 all of whom were significant players in these primaries on the more conservative side \u2014 <em>these major players are successful because they are delivering what Republican voters are desperate to get from their elected officials<\/em>. <\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>People keep saying Trump won tonight. I really think <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Jim_Banks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Jim_Banks<\/a> won. <\/p>\n<p>Hoosier Leadership for America focused on more local issues in attack ads and gave primary challengers a chance to capitalize on long-held grievances among grassroots Republicans. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jN089lUDiM\">pic.twitter.com\/jN089lUDiM<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u2014 Jacob Stewart (@jstewartIndy) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jstewartIndy\/status\/2051887038417285141?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 6, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>It\u2019s not about Trump\u2019s personality. It\u2019s not about counter-culture MAGA hats to \u201cown the libs.\u201d It\u2019s about what Trump delivers for voters. Drake and her ally O\u2019Brien won big margins without a Trump endorsement, because voters trust they\u2019ll do the same thing Trump does: deliver prudent, bold conservative policy wins. <\/p>\n<p>These primaries were a proxy war between different wings of the state Republican Party. Trump, Banks, Rokita, Braun, TPUSA, and the Senate primary challengers represented its insurgent conservative wing. The primary losers represent the \u201cestablishment\u201d that knifes conservative priorities like it\u2019s their only reason for existing (besides getting kickbacks from big business). In short, the Indiana primaries were a wipeout for the Mike Pence wing of the Indiana Republican Party.<\/p>\n<p>The part of the Republican Party that can\u2019t deflect devastating changes to Virginia\u2019s state constitution, pass the SAVE Act in Congress, deliver trustworthy elections at the state level, back mass deportations, rein in predatory big businesses, get its attention away from foreign wars that drive inflation, impeach corrupt judges, and enact mass firings of administrative state bureaucrats better take notice. Voters like Trump, not because of his hair or sometimes-embarrassing comments, but because he\u2019s changing how the Republican Party does business. <\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Joy Pullmann is executive editor of The Federalist and the researcher and host for The Federalist&#8217;s forthcoming lawfare podcast series, &#8220;Overruled.&#8221; Her latest book with Regnery is &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/p\/books\/false-colors-the-flag-of-our-occupation-joy-pullmann\/20707173?ean=9781684515875\">False Flag: Why Queer Politics Mean the End of America<\/a>.&#8221;  A happy wife and the mother of six children, her ebooks include the NEW &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/payhip.com\/b\/ZT5Wd\" target=\"_blank\">300 Classic Books for Ages 9 to Adult<\/a>,&#8221; and the bestselling &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/payhip.com\/b\/R1JL\">Classic Books For Young Children<\/a>.&#8221;      An 20-year education and politics reporter, Joy has testified before nearly two dozen legislatures on education policy and appeared on major media including Tucker Carlson, CNN, Fox News, OANN, NewsMax, Ben Shapiro, and Dennis Prager. Joy is a grateful graduate of the Hillsdale College honors and journalism programs who identifies as native American and gender natural. Joy is also the cofounder of a high-performing Christian classical school and the author and coauthor of classical curricula.    Her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/professor-banned-from-christian-campus-for-criticizing-identity-politics-settles-case\/\" title=\"Professor settles case after criticizing identity politics on Christian campus\">traditionally published books<\/a> also include &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Education-Invasion-Parents-Control-American\/dp\/1594038813\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&#038;qid=1486730068&#038;sr=8-1&#038;keywords=education+invasion\">The Education Invasion: How Common Core Fights Parents for Control of American Kids<\/a>,&#8221; from Encounter Books.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Indiana GOP primary voters made sweeping changes Tuesday, defeating incumbents and backing conservative challengers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":519,"featured_media":2599460,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/33803971533_c25a8598ed_k.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[6571,6203,49002,32085,4223],"class_list":["post-2599459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-elections","tag-gop","tag-mike-pence","tag-republican-party","tag-voters"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/33803971533_c25a8598ed_k.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2599459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/519"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2599459"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2599459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2599463,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2599459\/revisions\/2599463"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2599460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2599459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2599459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2599459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}