Indiana primaries 2024: Spartz survives, big spenders prevail

538 tracked several establishment-versus-insurgent GOP primaries.

Tuesday saw the resolution of several major Republican primaries in Indiana: Voters selected the men who will likely become the state’s next U.S. senator and governor, and three open U.S. House seats were the canvas for fierce primary battles between the establishment and populist wings of the GOP. A maverick Republican incumbent also successfully defended her seat after waffling over her decision to seek reelection.

538 reporters and contributors broke down the election results as they came in with live updates, analysis and commentary. Read our full live blog below.


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Spartz projected to win renomination in 5th District, ABC News reports

ABC News is reporting that Spartz is projected to win the Republican primary in Indiana's 5th District. Spartz leads 39 percent to 33 percent over Goodrich with 92 percent of the expected vote reporting. It wasn't easy for "Hamlet from Hamilton" — Spartz announced in February 2023 that she wouldn't run for reelection, but changed her mind in February 2024 — but she now stands an excellent chance of returning to Congress in 2025 from her safely red seat.

—Geoffrey Skelley, 538


Checking in on candidates of color running in Indiana

We're tracking how 11 candidates of color are performing in Indiana's gubernatorial, Senate and House primaries, and it appears that two are on their way to winning party nominations tonight. Democratic Rep. André Carson, of the Indianapolis-based 7th District, has 91 percent of the vote and is projected to win, according to reporting by ABC News. In the Democratic primary for Senate, clinical psychologist Valerie McCray is also projected to win, ABC News reports. She currently has 68 percent of the vote with 47 percent of the expected vote reporting — perhaps a bit of a surprise considering former state Rep. Marc Carmichael outraised her in that contest.

Beyond those two, however, it's looking unlikely any other candidates of color will find victory this evening. In the Democratic primary in the solidly red 4th District, insurance executive Rimpi Girn trails Derrick Holder, 63 percent to 37 percent, and ABC News reports that Holder is projected to win. In the 1st District, Mark Leyva and Ben Ruiz are behind Lake County Councilmember Randy Niemeyer by a significant margin in the GOP primary, with the winner set to take on Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan. And in the solidly blue 7th District, Gabe Whitley is in last place among the Republican contenders fighting for the right to likely lose to Carson.

—Geoffrey Skelley, 538


A four-way pileup in Indiana’s 3rd

With 81 percent of the expected vote reporting in the GOP primary for Indiana’s 3rd District, things are extremely close and unpredictable. Stutzman has 23 percent of the vote, Smith has 22 percent, Davis has 19 percent and Zay has 18 percent. In terms of raw votes, Stutzman is just 398 votes ahead of Smith.

Stutzman’s lead is built on his strong showing in the northern part of the district, and the good news for him is that, according to the AP, two counties in that region are barely reporting any votes. But the largest number of outstanding votes is probably in Fort Wayne’s Allen County, where Smith is narrowly leading Stutzman. Very suspenseful!

—Nathaniel Rakich, 538


Braun is very conservative on abortion

Braun's record in the Senate on abortion has earned him an A+ rating from the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. He's introduced several anti-abortion bills, including a parental notification bill last year that would require parents to be notified when their minor child seeks an abortion and give them a chance to stop it. Before the ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, Braun had suggested that interracial marriage and same-sex marriage, both issues also related to rights to privacy, should be left to the states, before walking that back and saying he'd misunderstood the reporter's question. Still, he has praised Indiana's near-total abortion ban, but he's also said more recently that he expects tweaks in the coming years.

Of course, Braun was only one of many anti-abortion candidates I'm watching tonight. Messmer's projected win in the 8th District (according to reporting by ABC News) adds another anti-abortion victory to the list, and ABC News is now reporting that Baird is projected to win in the 4th District.

—Monica Potts, 538


Israel policy has inspired heavy spending in the 8th District

Another ex-congressman may make a comeback in southwestern Indiana's 8th District — once one of the most competitive seats in the country but now a reliably Republican seat. The two front-runners in the GOP primary here appear to be state Sen. Mark Messmer and former Rep. John Hostettler. Establishment and tea party Republican groups have invested heavily in this race: America Leads Action has spent $1.6 million to help Messmer and hurt Hostettler, and Protect Freedom PAC is airing ads for Hostettler.

But the main divide in this race seems to be less about governing philosophy and more about foreign policy. For instance, Protect Freedom PAC — which represents former Rep. Ron Paul's libertarian wing of the party — may be with Hostettler because he and Paul were two of only six Republicans who opposed the Iraq war back in 2002. And Hostettler's record on Israel has provoked strong opposition from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and Republican Jewish Coalition. Citing anti-Israel votes Hostettler took in Congress as well as a book he wrote that blamed the Iraq war on Jewish Americans' efforts to help Israel, these two groups have dropped $2.2 million to attack Hostettler or boost Messmer.

In total, pro-Messmer, anti-Hostettler outside groups have outspent pro-Hostettler, anti-Messmer groups by a whopping $5.1 million to $793,000. (And it's not like Hostettler himself has been able to fight back; Messmer has outraised him $763,000 to $41,000.)

Don't write off two other candidates, either. Surgeon Richard Moss, who has pledged to join the Freedom Caucus, has raised $556,000, while 28-year-old Army reservist Dominick Kavanaugh took in $528,000. That said, given the financial disparity, any candidate other than Messmer has to be considered an underdog.

—Nathaniel Rakich, 538