Tuesday night was a political whiplash for former Vice President Mike Pence in his home state of Indiana, as multiple candidates tied to Pence were decisively rejected by Republican primary voters and replaced by Trump-endorsed America First challengers.
The results sent a loud and unmistakable message from Indiana Republicans: the days of Mike Pence controlling Indiana Republican politics are over.
Indiana’s failed congressional redistricting fight was front and center. After several establishment Republicans sided with Democrats to block efforts aimed at protecting Republican congressional power ahead of the midterms, the issue became a litmus test for GOP voters. Lawmakers who opposed the redistricting effort paid a heavy political price.
One of the biggest casualties of the night was Indiana State Senator Jim Buck, whom Mike Pence personally endorsed for reelection just weeks ago. Buck was crushed by Trump-endorsed challenger Tracey Powell in the Republican primary for Indiana Senate District 21. Official election results showed Powell defeating Buck by nearly 30 points, receiving 64.7% of the vote to Buck’s 35.3%.
Buck became a top target for conservatives after voting against Indiana’s 2025 congressional redistricting plan, HB 1032, in December. Despite Buck siding with Democrats, Pence rushed to publicly support him in April, praising Buck as “one of Indiana’s most conservative state legislators.”
The endorsement immediately backfired. President Trump aggressively campaigned against Buck on Truth Social, calling him a “pathetic RINO incumbent” who voted against redistricting “which puts the United States Congress in jeopardy.”
Indiana voters listened, and Buck wasn’t the only Pence ally rejected Tuesday night. Indiana State Senator Travis Holdman suffered a humiliating defeat after opposing the redistricting plan. Holdman lost to Trump-endorsed Blake Fiechter by more than 20 points.
FEC records show Holdman financially backed Mike Pence’s failed 2024 presidential campaign against President Trump, further tying him to the collapsing Pence political operation.
Trump had previously targeted Holdman on Truth Social, blasting him as a “RINO” and endorsing Fiechter as the true America First candidate in the race.
The anti-Pence wave continued across the state. Longtime Indiana State Senator Greg Walker, one of the loudest opponents of the congressional redistricting effort, lost his Republican primary to Trump-endorsed State Representative Michelle Davis.
Walker’s defeat carried symbolic significance given his ties to Columbus, Indiana, Mike Pence’s hometown and longtime political base. Trump endorsed Davis while directly attacking Walker as another Republican who sided against conservative voters on redistricting.
State Senator Linda Rogers also went down in flames Tuesday night after voting against the redistricting proposal. Rogers was defeated by Trump-endorsed Dr. Brian Schmutzler, who won nearly 59% of the vote. President Trump called for Rogers’ defeat before Election Day, labeling her a “RINO LOSER” who “failed the wonderful people of Indiana so badly.”
Meanwhile, State Senator Dan Dernulc suffered one of the worst losses of the night, getting obliterated by Trump-endorsed Trevor De Vries after opposing the redistricting effort. De Vries secured more than 75% of the vote in a rebuke of the Indiana establishment.
Former Vice President Pence largely avoided publicly engaging in the redistricting battle himself, despite his political network becoming deeply tied to the effort to block Republican advantages in Congress.
At the same time, several former Pence allies have openly aligned themselves with Democrat political interests. As Loomered.com previously reported, Pence’s former top adviser, Olivia Troye, is now running for Congress in Virginia’s heavily gerrymandered 7th Congressional District after defecting to the anti-Trump resistance movement.
While Pence allies and former Pence staffers benefit from Democrat-backed redistricting efforts around the country, Indiana Republican voters just sent Pence’s political machine packing.
Mike Pence seems to have believed he could undermine the America First movement as a way to get revenge against President Trump without consequences. Tuesday night proved otherwise.
