\n<\/p>\n
Indiana’s primary will test President Donald Trump’s enduring power over the Republican Party as he tries to dislodge state senators who refused to go along with his call to redraw the state’s congressional map.<\/p>\n
Twenty-one Republican senators voted against redistricting<\/a> in December, including eight running for reelection this year. Trump has endorsed primary challengers against seven, and the president’s allies have spent millions of dollars on races that rarely get much attention from Washington. <\/p>\n It’s become a costly and unprecedented intraparty battle<\/a> that has exacerbated tensions among Republicans ahead of the November midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. <\/p>\n Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith said the primary is about how far the party will go to get an edge over Democrats \u2014 a contest between \u201cthe Republicans who tend to want to avoid the fight and the Republicans who feel like we need to fight.”<\/p>\n \u201cSo the only question is, \u2018Will you fight or will you get trampled by the other side?\u2019\u201d said Beckwith, who is supporting the Trump-backed challengers. <\/p>\n Trump began leaning on Republican-led states last year to redraw their congressional maps to make it easier for his party to hold its thin majority in the U.S. House. Although redistricting is normally done once a decade, after a new census, Trump wanted to abandon tradition to gain a political edge. <\/p>\n Texas was the first to follow through, and the White House pressured Indiana to go along too. Vice President JD Vance met with state politicians in Washington and Indianapolis, and Trump weighed in by conference call. <\/p>\n