Indiana GOP senators have big fundraising lead despite redistricting conflict

Republican state senators have a strong fundraising head start going into their primary campaigns as a presidential threat of political retribution looms over many of them from the failed Indiana congressional redistricting push.

That advantage, however, could quickly vanish if Gov. Mike Braun dips into nearly $2.3 million in campaign cash he built by the end of December to carry through on vows to back primary challengers to Republican senators who voted against redistricting.

A look at the potential political fallout from the doomed effort demanded by President Donald Trump for new congressional maps comes from updated state campaign finance reports released Wednesday covering through the end of 2025.

Besides the Republican intra-party square off, the new reports also show a fast fundraising start by secretary of state candidate Beau Bayh that made him the rare Democrat to have a campaign cash lead as he looks to challenge Republican incumbent Diego Morales.

Senate Republican retribution threat

Both Trump and Vice President JD Vance renewed calls of political vengeance over the weekend from the bruising Indiana Senate defeat in December of a proposed new U.S. House map aimed at giving Republicans all nine of the state’s congressional seats.

They both cast blame again on Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray for the Indiana redistricting loss, this time pointing to Virginia Democrats last week advancing a plan for new maps in that state.

A Trump social media post on Saturday said: “I was with David McIntosh of the Club for Growth, and we agreed that we will both work tirelessly together to take out Indiana Senate Majority Leader Rod Bray, a total RINO, who betrayed the Republican Party, the President of the United States, and everyone else who wants to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! We’re after you Bray, like no one has ever come after you before!”
 

The threats from Trump and Braun against Bray that began last fall did not seem to dent fundraising by the Senate Republican campaign committee — or by Bray’s campaign.

That organization, which Senate Republican leadership controls and typically backs all incumbent GOP senators, reported raising almost $1.3 million last year and ending 2025 with $2.3 million in available cash. 

Bray, who isn’t up for election until 2028, ended December with just over $1 million in his campaign account after raising about $335,000 during the year.

Meanwhile, of the eight Republican senators seeking reelection this year who voted against redistricting, only one reported less campaign cash on hand than any GOP challengers. That was Sen. Greg Walker, who raised no money last year as he planned to retire from the Legislature before reversing his decision this month.

Former Sen. Jim Merritt, who was a longtime leader of the Republican campaign arm before leaving the Senate in 2020, said he believed it was too late for many of the challengers to organize effective campaigns.

“If you’re gonna take on a Senate incumbent, you’ve gotta have a bazooka,” Merritt said in an interview. “You’ve gotta have some might behind your name and none of those people do.”

Josh Kelley, Braun’s chief of staff and top political adviser, told the Indiana Capital Chronicle in a text message that he would not comment on whether the Braun campaign will direct money toward primary challengers. 

Braun’s gubernatorial campaign, coming off his 2024 election win, raised $2.5 million last year and ended December with $2.3 million available.

A pro-redistricting campaign group called Fair Maps Indiana Action reported no fundraising activity for 2025 despite announcing in December plans to spend seven figures in key state Senate and House primary races.

Fair Maps Indiana leader Marty Obst, an Indiana Republican operative who held senior leadership roles in Trump’s 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, said the group spent more than $500,000 on redistricting efforts through its nonprofit organization that isn’t required to disclose its funding sources.

Obst told the Capital Chronicle that the group would be raising money for both the nonprofit and campaign organizations for the primary races.

“Our team will work closely with aligned efforts such as Club For Growth and multiple political committees supporting the president’s priorities,” Obst said. “Our intention is to spend seven figures opposing those senators and supporting top-tier challengers.”

Neither Bray’s office nor the Republican Senate campaign committee commented in response to the new salvos from Trump and Vance.

Merritt said he doubted the redistricting issue’s influence in legislative primary races. 

“If Trump were on the ballot, yes, I think there would be some push,” he said. “I think there’d be some leverage there.”

Secretary of state action

The top 2026 political target for Indiana Democrats is the secretary of state’s office, a race where many party leaders hope Bayh will be able to successfully challenge first-term Republican incumbent Morales.

Bayh, the son of former Gov. Evan Bayh and grandson of former U.S. Sen. Birch Bayh, leveraged those deep political ties for a quick fundraising haul after formally launching his campaign in early October.
 

In those three months, Beau Bayh raised $1.8 million and ended 2025 with nearly $1.6 million available. 

That compares to the $500,000 raised by Morales for the year and his campaign’s $1.2 million available.

Those figures already put the secretary of state campaigns well ahead of spending for the entire 2022 cycle, when Morales raised $1.3 million and Democratic challenger Destiny Wells raised $860,000.

Beau Bayh’s campaign touted the fundraising haul as evidence of momentum in support of his candidacy.

“People are demanding change — an end to the blatant corruption, an end to the no bid contracts, and an end to the waste of taxpayer money,” he said in a statement. “With the support of more and more Hoosiers on our side, we will defeat Diego Morales.”
 

Morales derided Bayh as “Trust Fund Beau” and said his own campaign’s fundraising “indicates that we have energized donors through our focus on protecting elections, defending Hoosiers and delivering results during my first term in office.”

“Our ongoing fundraising success and recent financial reports from other candidates show that I am the only Republican who will have the resources to win in November,” Morales said in a statement. “While we are standing toe-to-toe with the Democrats in raising funds, we have the experience and the proven leadership to continue enhancing the critical election protections and business services reforms that Hoosiers demand.”

The Republican and Democratic nominations for secretary of state will be decided at their state party conventions in June.

Morales is being challenged by Knox County Clerk David Shelton, who reported raising $48,000 and having $7,000 remaining at year’s end.

Another Democratic candidate is Blythe Potter, a small business owner and Army veteran from Bargersville. She reported raising $136,000, with $116,000 available on Dec. 31.

Potter on Wednesday denounced Beau Bayh for relying on what her campaign cited as $310,000 from Republican-aligned donors and $615,000 from out-of-state contributors.

Potter called on Beau Bayh to return a $25,000 contribution from Marc Rowan, the CEO of Apollo Global Management private equity firm whom Trump has named to his planned Board of Peace.

“Hoosiers deserve to know who candidates are really accountable to,” Potter said in a statement. “If Beau Bayh wants to run as a champion for Indiana voters, he should start by returning money from Trump-aligned billionaires who sit on pay-to-play advisory boards and bankroll the Republican agenda.”

Bayh campaign manager Jack Tormoehlen did not comment directly on Blythe’s criticism, saying in a statement that “Beau has been clear about his priorities in cleaning up the corruption in the secretary of state’s office, and we are building a winning campaign with supporters who agree we shouldn’t be wasting taxpayer dollars on no-bid contracts and luxury cars.”

This story has been updated with additional comment from Diego Morales campaign and Fair Maps Indiana group.

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.