Indiana's Senate race will show the depths of the fault lines within the GOP. Early signs show it's still Trump's party.

Sat, 02/04/2023 - 15:09

Eric Holcomb, Jim Banks, Mitch Daniels, and Victoria Spartz collaged together with a map of Indiana — iStock; Michael Conroy/AP; Jacquelyn Martin, File/AP; Darron Cummings/AP; Michael Conroy/AP; Rebecca Zisser/Insider

In years past, former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels would have been an ideal GOP Senate candidate.
But this week, Daniels — opposed by social conservatives — announced that he would skip a campaign.
Daniels' decision offers a look at the obstacles that the party continues to face headed in 2024.

In the Republican Party of the 1990s and 2000s, former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels would have been seen by most traditional conservatives as an ideal candidate to run for the Senate.

But after Daniels visited Capitol Hill last week, he announced on Tuesday that he would pass on a Senate bid in 2024, which will be an open seat contest due to Republican Sen. Mike Braun's decision to run for governor.