Donald Davis

With Donald Trump targeting seven Republican state senators in Indiana for refusing to redraw the lines of its U.S. House districts, Hoosier State Republicans who spoke to Newsmax agree that the defeat of two or three of them in Tuesday's primaries will be considered a victory for the president.

"If he beats two or three of the eight he has targeted, it will be a win for Trump," said one veteran GOP operative in Indianapolis who requested anonymity. "If four or five go down, it will be a landslide."

The same source explained that, historically, "Republican state senators in Indiana never lose renomination. In fact, only two have lost primaries in the last forty years."

One of the two was state Sen. Larry Borst of Indianapolis, whose decades-long legislative career ended in 2004 when challenger Brent Waltz edged him by 38 votes.

Waltz's challenge was fueled by backers of legalized gambling at racetracks — something Borst, as Senate Finance Committee chair, strongly opposed.

The other was veteran state Sen. Bob Garton of Columbus, who served from 1970 to 2006 and was president pro tem of the Senate until he was unseated by Greg Walker in the 2006 primary.

Many Hoosier Republicans agree that Garton's propensity to work with Democrats in the Senate spelled his undoing by 58% to 42%.

Walker, now 62, is one of the "Trump Seven" who not only blocked the desired redistricting but also accused the president of violating the Hatch Act, which restricts federal employees' involvement in partisan political activity, by using government employees to lobby for changes in the congressional map.

Walker faces a spirited challenge from state Rep. Michelle Davis, who has sponsored legislation to designate public school sports teams as male, female, or co-ed and to prohibit transgender girls from competing in women's sports.

Whether the president's retribution against senators who thwarted his push for redistricting will achieve the rare feat of unseating incumbent Republican senators is likely to be closely watched and analyzed beyond Indiana on Tuesday night.