Our Ground Game newsletter editors asked AP’s political reporters across the country who have been covering the midterm elections to pick the top story they’ve worked on this year and take stock of what made it memorable.
Here’s what Des Moines-based reporter Thomas Beaumont had to say about his time in Indiana:
“Very few Republicans are willing to say no, at least publicly, to President Donald Trump. But that’s what happened in Indiana.
Trump wanted state senators to join his unusual crusade to redraw congressional districts around the country to give Republicans an advantage in the midterms.
Few states are as conservative as Indiana, where Trump easily won in each of his campaigns. However, senators weren’t sold on the plan or the president’s aggressive lobbying, which included his usual dose of social media insults.
A bit of personal satisfaction came from getting the media-shy Mitch Daniels, a former Republican governor, to talk about the rare defiance. ‘Folks in our state don’t react well to being bullied,’ he said.
The Republican senators voted down the redistricting, but Trump still found a way to demonstrate his grip on the party. Several of them lost primaries to Trump-backed opponents in May.
Still, it was a rare episode of Republicans zigging when president told them to zag.”
