Trump endorses Alting, 16 others ahead of Indiana Senate primaries
Endorsement of Lafayette Republican comes as president continues payback on redistricting votes. Alting’s challenger: ‘A 28-year incumbent had to call in the president … to try and stop me’
President Donald Trump continued to put his thumbprints on more down ballot, Indiana Senate primaries, offering his endorsement Tuesday afternoon of state Sen. Ron Alting’s re-election bid in Senate District 22.
“Ron Alting has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” Trump posted.
The Alting endorsement was one of 17 Trump posted on his TruthSocial account in Indiana Senate races, leaning into payback for votes on a failed, White House-driven redistricting plan ahead of the 2026 midterms in hopes of winning more Republican seats in the U.S. House.
Alting, a Lafayette Republican and currently the longest-serving member of the Indiana Senate, publicly endorsed the plan weeks ahead of the General Assembly vote, saying he backed getting more Republicans in Congress to “help to ensure the president also has the support he needs in Congress to continue passing his bold agenda that is making a positive difference in the lives of Hoosiers.”
Alting declined to comment on the endorsement Tuesday afternoon.
Alting is being challenged by Richard Bagsby, a Tippecanoe County Republican who has campaigned contending that the state senator is not conservative enough on questions of abortion, gender identification, diversity practices in schools and more. Bagsby supported Trump’s redistricting plan and has the backing of Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, who has helped recruit and support candidates challenging Republican incumbents who weren’t on board with the White House push.
In a moment from the closing days of the 2026 General Assembly session, Beckwith posted a video from the lieutenant governor’s office taking swipes at Alting and using finger quotes when referring to him as a Republican.
“It says everything that a 28-year incumbent had to call in the president of the United States to try and stop me,” Bagsby said Tuesday afternoon. “This race is about District 22 — and I’m the only consistent conservative in it.”
Here are Trump’s full comments on Alting, posted Tuesday:
“State Senator Ron Alting is a Strong Champion and Highly Effective Representative for the Great People of Indiana’s 22nd State Senate District!
“A respected Businessman, Lafayette City Council Member, and Indiana Guard Reserve Major, prior to becoming a distinguished State Senator, Ron has dedicated his life to serving his Community. In the State Senate, he is working hard to Protect “Hoosier” Values, Grow our Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Champion American Energy DOMINANCE, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Stop Migrant Crime, Strengthen our Military/Veterans, Ensure LAW AND ORDER, Advance Election Integrity, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment.
“Ron Alting has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”
Paula Copenhaver, the Fountain County Republican Party chair and a Beckwith staffer, already had Trump backing and received an invitation to visit the White House this winter in her challenge of state Sen. Spencer Deery, a West Lafayette Republican, in Senate District 22. Deery has been a target of Trump and dark money ads after his outspoken opposition to mid-decade redistricting.
Copenhaver received a follow-up endorsement from Trump in Tuesday’s batch, too.
Indiana Senate District 22 – which covers Lafayette, the eastern portion of Tippecanoe County and Carroll County – has been chippy, as it is.
Alting’s campaign has run ads that point to Bagsby’s past – one that the challenger has said he actually tells during campaign stops.
A pair of Democrats are vying for their party’s nomination in Senate District 22.
One of those, Natasha Baker, a Democrat from Battle Ground, said: “I am excited to continue this race as a Non-Endorsed Trump candidate as I work to earn the vote of the people of District 22 so I can be a representative that puts the needs of the people above Washington D.C politics! I pride myself in losing this endorsement and to distinguish myself against politicians putting the needs of Israel above the United States, draining our public education, cutting resources to emergency services, blurring the line between church and state, and blaming all problems on marginalized communities instead of billionaires and the elite. District 22 deserves a new leader that knows the needs of the people in the district, not the president.”
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Ron Alting was a respectable, moderate Republican who's honorably served this district for decades. But now he's drunk the Trump Kool-Aid, embracing policies that many educated voters find repellent. Such a shame.
"He will never let you down!"... When indeed he has... What a shame.