Trump-fueled retribution campaigns start to pour cash into Indiana Senate District 23, others
Report: Millions of dollars in national political ad campaigns are materializing in several Indiana races. Sen. Spencer Deery finds himself fending them off in District 23.
Support for this edition comes from Purdue Convocations, presenting Friday the 13th Sale! Beetlejuice is haunting Elliott Hall of Music’s stage on April 9 and now’s the time to secure your seats! For a limited time, take $13 off tickets in honor of Friday the 13th and get ready for the time of your (after)life with the ghost-with-the-most! Hurry, sale ends Sunday, March 15, at 11:59 p.m.! Visit convocations.org/sale to shop!
Thanks, also to Stuart & Branigin for continued support of the Based in Lafayette reporting project.
TRUMP-FUELED RETRIBUTION CAMPAIGNS START TO POUR CASH INTO INDIANA SENATE DISTRICT 23, OTHERS
This week, state Sen. Spencer Deery – a West Lafayette Republican targeted by the White House for bucking a failed attempt to redraw Indiana’s congressional maps in time for the 2026 midterm elections for more of a GOP lean in the U.S. House – flagged the sort of shady retribution he warned supporters his re-election campaign was in for ahead of the May 5 primary.
In a social media post Wednesday, Deery picked apart an ad that started playing in TV markets that cover Indiana Senate District 23 – from West Lafayette to Vermillion County an hour away – financed by a political action committee called Hoosier Leadership for America.
The ad rips Deery for his votes on Senate Bill 1’s property tax reform in 2025 and for his outspoken opposition of mid-decade redistricting in a race against Paula Copenhaver, a President Donald Trump-endorsed Republican.
It also touts that “Deery voted to let China own our farmland.” The ad referenced his vote on House Bill 1183, a 2024 measure that blocked foreign adversaries from buying farmland within 10 miles of a military installation. The thing is: The bill passed the Indiana Senate unanimously. A follow-on bill in 2026 expanded that prohibition across the state.
“But these groups don’t want you to know that,” Deery said. “They’re hoping you won’t look past the headlines or look into the bills. They just want to distort, and they want to lie to you.”
All of which brings things to reporting published a couple of days later that put the ads into perspective.
Adam Wren, reporting for Politico, wrote on Friday: “Hoosier Leadership for America, (U.S.) Sen. Jim Banks’ political nonprofit run by Andrew Surabian, the longtime Team Trump operative and close adviser to JD Vance and Donald Trump Jr., plans to carpet-bomb seven state Senate races with $3 million alone, according to a person familiar with the strategy. Turning Point USA and Club for Growth are expected to join the effort. The eye-popping splash of cash in a collection of down-ballot races is the latest sign Trump and top allies so far are willing to fund retributive campaigns during a midterm year that’s darkening for the GOP rather than wage political war in more competitive spots.”
Read more from Wren here: “MAGA’s Indiana retribution campaign heats up.”
Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, livid as the Indiana Senate dragged its feet on call to redistrict, months ago signaled that Turning Point USA and other outside money was being lined up as payback in several races, including Indiana Senate District 23. (See this from November 2025, when Copenhaver – Fountain County Republican Party chair and a member of the lieutenant governor’s staff – emerged to challenge Deery: “Beckwith on new, redistricting-driven Deery-Copenhaver primary: ‘I’m on a mission now.’”)
The money from Banks’ group also follows Copenhaver’s recent visit to the White House, along with other down ballot Indiana candidates who received endorsements Trump inspired by the redistricting flap.
Mailers and text messages paid for by the Club for Growth – a conservative organization led by former Indiana Congressman David McIntosh – that highlight Trump’s endorsement of Copenhaver started landing in Senate District 23 this week, too, following the ad that had Deery countering last week:
All of which is to say, ad campaigns once promised are materializing.
“The reason why there is no organic grassroots movement behind these attacks is because I have spent four years developing genuine relationships of trust across the six counties of my district,” Deery told Based in Lafayette.
“All they have are commercials and photoshopped mailers,” Deery said. “On the other hand, the reason why there is so much funding and effort behind these attacks is because Washington, D.C., and the dark money groups that do their bidding want to control our state. They want to silence anyone who won’t be their puppet. These attacks aren’t really about me; they’re about whether outside groups get to control Indiana’s elections.”
The winner of the GOP primary will face Democratic candidate David Sanders, a West Lafayette City Council member.
For more
FOR MORE ON THE PRIMARY …
Candidates on the ballots: For a look at who is on Tippecanoe County primary ballots, here are links to Democratic candidates and Republican candidates.
Voter registration deadline: … is April 6 to be eligible to vote in the May 5 primary. To register or for more details, go to the Secretary of State’s voter portal at indianavoters.in.gov or to the county’s voter registration page.
Vote centers and early polling sites: Early voting ahead of the May 5 primary will start April 7 and run through May 4. For a list of sites and dates, if you’re really into planning, here’s a link.
THIS AND THAT/OTHER READS …
Tippecanoe County Coroner Carrie Costello ruled that a man found dead this week in the Physics Building at Purdue died of asphyxia. J&C reporter Ron Wilkins had more details and what’s still not known here: “19-year-old man found in Purdue’s Physics Building died from asphyxia.”
IndyStar reporter Kyle Neddenriep made note of some high school basketball history with some heavy local connections: “For first time in 100 years, North Central Conference without a sectional champion.”
And if you’re into niche moments that will get the conversation started while pregaming at Harry’s 12 years from now, here’s your shirt, based on some Braden Smith heroics in Purdue’s opening night win against Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament. It’s just one of the assists in a four-year Purdue career that made him the all-time assists leader in the Big Ten … and maybe, in a few weeks, the best in NCAA history.
Thanks, again, to sponsor Stuart & Branigin for continued support of the Based in Lafayette reporting project.
And thanks for support for this edition from Purdue Convocations, presenting Friday the 13th Sale for “Beetlejuice” at Elliott Hall of Music on April 9. Sale goes now through Sunday.
Thank you for supporting Based in Lafayette, an independent, local reporting project. Free and full-ride subscription options are ready for you here.
Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.
Interesting reference to the undesirability of being a political puppet. There is an alternative to both of these Republican Senate 23 candidates. I am the Democratic candidate.
I have been seeing TWO very annoying ads - the Deery one and the Alting one against his competitor in the primary. The Alting one (and I am aware of the other guy's background) comes across as low class and I would think a Senator would not have stooped that low to ok it.
The Deery one will not influence me as much as the connections each have. What is worse/better -Beckwith or Daniels?
Redistricting attempts are over and done with. Get over it and move on focusing on policies, not on getting back at a candidate.
This is just like the campaign literature and form letters we get from some of these people - no accountability and constant blame or wanting to "get even".