Republicans who cross Donald Trump have not generally fared well over the last decade, and last night in Indiana was no different. In December, the state’s Republican-controlled legislature rejected Trump’s push to initiate mid-decade redistricting to offset Democrats’ efforts in California and elsewhere. In yesterday’s eight Indiana Senate primaries, most of the anti-redistricting Republicans lost by double digits.

CBS News reports:

Five of the Indiana state senators who voted against redrawing the state’s House maps last year lost their Republican primaries on Tuesday, ousted by Trump-endorsed primary challengers, The Associated Press projected. A sixth Trump-supported candidate also won the GOP primary in an open seat where a Republican who rejected redistricting decided not to run for reelection.

One senator survived a primary challenge backed by the president on Tuesday. One primary between an anti-redistricting Republican and a Trump endorsee did not have a projected winner as of late Tuesday, with the two candidates separated by a razor-thin margin.

None of the GOP seats in Indiana is likely to flip Democrat in November, though the victors won’t take their seats in time for redistricting to affect the 2026 midterms, and the losers are unlikely to see the light. Yet this is clearly a message to Republicans across the nation: Democrats sure as heck will do whatever it takes to win, so you better fight for every possible House seat in a year that does not otherwise look favorable for the GOP.

As Indiana Republican U.S. Senator Jim Banks, who backed the challengers, put it, “Tonight was a lesson to Republican lawmakers throughout the nation. There are consequences for not representing your voters.”

Similarly, attorney Will Chamberlain said, “The base isn’t stupid. Rule #1 of being a Republican officeholder: do not weaken your own voters’ electoral power.”

The Club for Growth was particularly invested in these races, and its president, David McIntosh, argued, “We’ve got to change those old-style Republicans, put in people who will fight, fight against the Democrat gerrymandering.”

Presidents usually lose midterm elections, and amid a war and skyrocketing gas prices, Trump is particularly unpopular right now. That said, he knows that obstruction and a third impeachment are likely in store for him if Democrats win the House, and he’s never going to be ready to assume lame-duck status.

It is not normal for the president of the United States to become so thoroughly invested in the outcome of state legislature races, but Donald Trump fights everywhere all the time. In fact, “fight” is the word that most encapsulates what he has, for better or worse, brought to the Grand Old Party.

Historically, Republicans have largely earned the perception of the nice loser. The guys who just want to get along and hold fast to mannerisms and protocols. It’s certainly desirable to hold principles, but those principles are not advanced by overly conciliatory compromise or outright defeat.

When Trump came on the scene in 2015, he immediately started fighting. It didn’t matter whether it was about the trade deficit and taxes or the size of his hands, he fought about everything. “Fight, fight, fight,” he shouted with fist held high in the air after getting shot in the ear.

Indeed, Republicans have learned to fight harder. That’s mostly a good thing, so long as it advances the right policies.

The drawback is that Trump almost never commands or even claims the high ground, which allows deceitful Democrats to pretend that they do. He doesn’t care about protocols, methods, limits, or what law he has to bend to his will; he’s going to fight for what he wants. The reality is that Trump behaves like a Democrat, and they truly hate him for it because he uses their methods to defeat them.

That’s what redistricting this year is all about. Democrats have rigged their states in grossly unfair ways, drawing atrociously bad district lines that take all manner of bizarre shapes entirely to ensure Democrats win. Until last week’s Supreme Court ruling, this included a lot of racially segregated, majority-minority districts that ensured black Democrats won House seats.

Trump looked at those maps and refused to fight with one hand tied behind his back. His Justice Department sued and won over race-based districting. He convinced Texas Republicans to fight fire with fire, and other states have followed suit. Those that refused — ahem, Indiana — were reprimanded by their own voters.

Last fall, Indiana’s state House passed GOP Governor Mike Braun’s new map, which gave Republicans an advantage in all nine Indiana congressional districts, with a projected pickup of two seats. Despite a 40-10 supermajority, Indiana state Senate Republicans rejected it, much to Trump’s consternation. He took to Truth Social to express his distaste for “pathetic” and “incompetent” RINOs in the state, offering endorsements to map-backing challengers.

Last night, some of those milquetoast Republicans paid the piper.

Ultimately, this story is much bigger than gerrymandering. That’s just a proxy for fighting to win. Secretary of State and possible 2028 presidential hopeful Marco Rubio understands this. In February, he told the Europeans, “We in America have no interest in being polite and orderly caretakers of the West’s managed decline.” American Republicans should take that to heart here at home.

At least one Indiana Republican certainly has. Back in December, state Senate Majority Leader Chris Garten thundered, “Some will say these maps are political. Let me be clear: You’re damn right they are! Political policy is political. Safe streets are political. … Affordable electricity is political. A drug-free Indiana is political. Peace in the Middle East is political. … We’re not here to be neutral arbiters of decline. We’re here to be active agents of American greatness.”

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