After Republicans blocked Indiana redistricting, millions poured in to defeat them

Elections After Republicans blocked Indiana redistricting, millions poured in to defeat them May 4, 20265:00 AM ET Tamara Keith Outside a polling place in West Lafayette, Ind., Republican state Sen. Spencer Deery greets voters arriving for early voting on April 28. Deery is a Republican incumbent President Trump has targeted after he opposed the president's redistricting push in Indiana. Tamara Keith/NPR hide caption toggle caption Tamara Keith/NPR Stay up to date with our Politics newsletter, sent weekly. Knocking on doors in West Lafayette, Indiana, Spencer Deery is campaigning for his political life. The state senator zips from door to door of a subdivision on an electric scooter he bought on Amazon, which he says improves his efficiency. He writes his cell number on a glossy campaign flyer and leaves it at one house after another, hoping to persuade voters one by one that he's not the RINO (Republican in name only) they've heard about in the TV ads. "It's really going to come down to one issue, and that is how many people just believe the ads," Deery said. Sponsor Message Deery is one of seven incumbent Republican state senators up for re-election, who late last year voted against President Trump's mid-decade redistricting push in Indiana. Indiana state Sen. Spencer Deery rides his electric scooter to canvass neighborhoods in his district on April 28 ahead of Indiana's primary election. Tamara Keith/NPR hide caption toggle caption Tamara Keith/NPR It was a rare political defeat for Trump at the hands of his own party. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said those Republicans should be ashamed of themselves and "every one of these people should be primaried." It wasn't an idle threat. A Trump-aligned dark money group funneled $1.5 million to an organization running TV ads against the incumbents in Indiana. And that ended up being just the beginning. The NPR Politics Podcast Trump's retribution tour: Comey, Indiana Republicans, and ABC In all, according to a tally f...