Indiana primary election takeaways: A quick governor's race and some Statehouse upsets
After millions of dollars spent and endless attack ads watched, another primary election is in the books.
For some of the most anticipated races, there was no suspense whatsover, with the Associated Press making very early calls for Indiana governor and U.S. Senate. Incumbents mostly had a successful night, but for a few standout exceptions. And meanwhile, a tornado watch was thrown into the mix.
Here are some takeaways from Tuesday's election.
Mike Braun gets quick ending to the governor's race
There was not even a minute of nail-biting in the Republican gubernatorial primary, after a long and arduous campaign season among a whopping six candidates.
The last of Indiana's polls in the central time zone closed at 7 p.m. Eastern Time, and on the dot, the Associated Press called the race for U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, who by then had a double-digit lead, but with less than 10% of votes counted.
But he maintained that 18-point lead over Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch all night. His opponents quickly conceded and offered their congratulations and support in the general election.
Despite a snarky campaign season full of jabs, it appears no one particularly wants to hold grudges or be begrudged.
Read more: U.S. Sen. Mike Braun is Republican pick for Indiana governor
Local, state leaders' support for Chuck Goodrich doesn't hurt Victoria Spartz
Just hours after U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz announced in February that she changed her mind and would run for reelection in the 5th Congressional District, local Republican leaders released public statements in support of Noblesville state Rep. Chuck Goodrich, one of her opponents.
There was Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen, Marion Mayor Ronald Morrell and Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness. Goodrich also received support over the last three months from fellow statehouse colleagues outside of the 5th Congressional District, like state Rep. Martin Carbaugh, R-Fort Wayne.
That lack of support didn’t look like a great sign for U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz, but it appears that had little impact on Republican voters in the 5th District Tuesday. Spartz won in every county but Delaware County where she trailed Goodrich by less than 1% of the vote with 93% of votes counted Tuesday night.
Read more: Victoria Spartz wins GOP 5th District primary, despite late race entry and millions spent
Non-candidate Nikki Haley makes a significant showing, which says something
Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley earned a sizeable protest vote despite not actually running for president.
She dropped out of the race, but only after making Indiana's primary ballot. Yet, she drew 22% of the vote away from former President Donald Trump ― a level of attrition that reflects the schism within the Republican party between traditional, more moderate conservatives and Trump's activist base.
It could be a bellwether for the performance of Trump-backed candidates in the general election. Though it's unclear if this contingent would make enough of a difference in deep-red Indiana.
Briggs' opinion: Trump is leading Indiana Republicans to a dangerous place
$4.5 million later, Jefferson Shreve gets a win in Indiana's 6th District
If at first you don't succeed, buy, buy again...
Jefferson Shreve won the Republican primary for the 6th Congressional District Tuesday night after loaning his campaign $4.5 million ahead of Election Day, emphasizing that he "would not owe anything to special interests or lobbyists." Shreve took just one $500 donation in March, according to federal campaign finance records.
Tuesday's win follows Shreve's record spending in the Indianapolis mayoral primary where he contributed and lent his campaign about $13.5 million. That's a lot of money in the last year.
But Shreve is in the best position to win a general election with his victory in the 6th District than his previous elections. U.S. Rep. Greg Pence, who is not running for reelection, defeated Cynthia Wirth in 2022 by more than 35 percentage points. Wirth and Libertarian James Sceniak are Shreve's opponents in November.
Read more: Jefferson Shreve wins 6th Congressional District GOP primary
The Republican challenger to Rep. André Carson is... deceased.
There was an abnormal Republican primary in the race to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. André Carson. One candidate had multiple accusations of fraudulent donors, and another had died in March, according to her family.
Jennifer Pace, the candidate who died at 59 years old, emerged victorious.
That means a caucus of party insiders will decide on a replacement for her on the November ballot against Carson.
Read more: Rep. André Carson easily wins primary, but GOP's 7th District choice died in March
Indiana Statehouse incumbents voted out
It was not a great night for a few incumbent members of the Indiana General Assembly.
State Rep. Sharon Negele, R-Attica, lost by 20 percentage points to challenger Matthew Commons. Incumbent state Sen. David Vinzant, D-Gary, lost to challenger Mark Spencer by a resounding 30 percentage points.
The House Republican Campaign Committee tried to throw its weight behind Negele in her primary battle, giving her campaign more than $80,000 this year.
Read more: How Indiana's 2024 Statehouse primaries shook out
Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter@kayla_dwyer17.
Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at [email protected] or 317-779-4468. Follow her on Twitter/X@CarloniBrittany.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Mike Braun's win, Statehouse upsets, the Victoria Spartz showdown