Decision Desk 2026: Ohio + Indiana Primaries

On Tuesday, Indiana and Ohio voters went to the polls for their regular primary elections. This included contests for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, and a whole lot more. Beginning at 6:30 p.m. Eastern that evening, we covered the results as part of Decision Desk 2026: Virginia Redistricting Livestream from Decision Desk HQ, The Chuck ToddCast, and Chris Cillizza! We were joined by guest experts throughout the night.

Among this cornucopia of elections happening on May 5, the most-watched races were a slate of state Senate primaries in Indiana. There, President Donald Trump endorsed primary challengers against seven Republican state senators who last year helped foil legislation that would have redrawn Indiana’s congressional map to make it more favorable to the GOP.

AdImpact reported that ad spending in Indiana’s state Senate primaries had totaled around $13.5 million, around $13 million more than any other recent cycle. That spoke to the outside money that had poured into these seven primaries.

Two of the highest-spending groups, Hoosier Leadership for America and American Leadership PAC, targeted the incumbents who opposed redistricting. Both organizations were associated with Republican Sen. Jim Banks and led by Andrew Surabian, a longtime member of Trump’s political circle.