Republican state Sen. Liz Brown has gained President Donald Trump’s public endorsement even as two prominent Indiana Trump loyalists are backing her primary challenger.
Trump included his support for Brown among 17 posts Tuesday to his social media account weighing in on Indiana Senate Republican primary races that gained his attention after the December defeat of the GOP-backed congressional redistricting proposal.
Brown, a Fort Wayne senator who voted in favor of the redistricting bill, faces challenger Darren Vogt in the May primary.
Vogt is a staffer to Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Banks and has endorsements from Banks and state Attorney General Todd Rokia — both of whom are strident Trump supporters and have clashed with Brown over her handling of immigration crackdown legislation.
Trump’s post said Brown “is a MAGA Warrior who is doing an incredible job representing Indiana’s 15th State Senate District!”
Another new Trump endorsement was for Sen. Ron Alting of Lafayette, who supported redistricting but has at times voted against conservative-backed measures, such as the 2022 near-total abortion ban bill.
Alting faces a primary challenger from Richard Bagsby, who argues he’s more conservative than Alting and has the backing of Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith.
Trump’s posts for Brown and Alting used similar wording, saying they both were working “to Protect ‘Hoosier’ Values,” including efforts to “Stop Migrant Crime … and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment.”
Trump repeated six previous endorsements of state Senate candidates, including five who are challenging incumbent Republicans who voted against redistricting.
The president also endorsed nine other Republican senators who supported redistricting but are either unopposed in the primary or are regarded as heavy favorites to win renomination.
Those senators are: Scott Alexander of Muncie, Gary Byrne of Georgetown, Chris Garten of Charlestown, Mike Gaskill of Pendleton, Tyler Johnson of Leo, Randy Maxwell of Guilford, Jeff Raatz of Richmond, Daryl Schmitt of Jasper and Jim Tomes of Wadesville.
Trump, however, has not weighed in on the primary races involving three Republican senators — Dan Dernulc of Highland, Rick Niemeyer of Lowell and Linda Rogers of Granger — who voted against redistricting and face GOP challengers.
Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com.
