Congressman Rokita’s entry into the race makes the most vicious Senate primary in the nation official now that both front-runners have shown their cards. After Washington Republicans’ first choice of candidate didn’t run, Indiana is now shaping up to have the only member-on-member Senate primary race in the country. With no daylight between the pair’s harmful policies on the important issues facing Indiana, both men have had to rely on increasingly brutal personal attacks to get a leg up in their race. It’s made for a debilitating primary that’s already stretched on for months – and now it’s finally become real.
- May 11: The AP runs its first story detailing Congressman Messer’s wife $20,000 monthly retainer from the City of Fishers for part-time work, which she does from the Messer home in McLean, VA. [AP, 5/11/17]
- May 18: Politico publishes a story noting that Congressman Rokita has reimbursed himself roughly $110,000 in funds from taxpayers and campaigns for flying around the state. Congressman Rokita pins it on Congressman Messer, calling it a “ham-handed, false attack” to distract from his residency issues and the AP report. [Politico Pro, 5/18/17]
- May 21: Congressman Messer’s team calls Congressman Rokita “unhinged” in a Fort Wayne Journal Gazette article following a campaign email Congressman Rokita sent the previous week starting with the phrase “Republicans shouldn’t do this to other Republicans.” [Journal Gazette, 5/21/17]
- June 7: One GOP operative tells The Hill that “this seems to be heading toward an opposition air war, because nothing has been brought to my attention where they are legitimately different on the issues” in an article on the growing primary. Congressman Rokita’s team uses the opportunity to say that “Indiana Republicans should be glad there’s a primary, because Luke Messer is a flawed candidate that needs the primary,” while Congressman Messer claims his opponent’s attacks aren’t sustainable. [The Hill, 6/7/17]
- July 2: Congressman Messer appears on IN Focus to defend his wife from the AP story and attack Congressman Rokita for pushing the report, saying “I’ve known Todd a long time, and very little surprises me… It’s not typical that someone starts the campaign by coming after someone’s spouse.” [WTTV, 7/2/17]
- July 15: After Congressmen Messer and Rokita announce they’ve finished the second quarter with roughly the same cash on hand, Congressman Rokita takes to social media to crow about his fundraising success relative to Congressman Messer—even though neither candidate has declared yet. [Indy Star, 7/15/17]
- July 16: Congressman Rokita appears on IN Focus several weeks after Congressman Messer’s appearance. Congressman Rokita responds, saying that he doesn’t have the “baggage” of Congressman Messer and that Congressman Messer has to do his interviews by satellite because he doesn’t live in the state. [WTTV, 7/16/17]
- July 17: Congressman Messer sends an email to supporters titled “I’m tired of Todd Rokita lying about my family,” claiming that Congressman Rokita “will do and say almost anything to advance his political career.” [Twitter, 7/17/17; Indy Politics, 7/17/17]
- July 17: Congressman Rokita’s campaign responds by calling Congressman Messer “a ticking time bomb” and “unhinged,” becoming the second candidate in the race to call his opponent that. [Indy Politics, 7/17/17]
- July 18: Congressman Rokita sends his own email to supporters, saying that Congressman Messer has been launching “desperate attacks” against him and that Congressman Messer would be an “out of touch, absentee Senator” if elected. [Twitter, 7/18/17]
- July 20: Howey Politics goes deep on the primary feud, where Congressman Rokita’s team mentions the fact that it’s been conducting a “whisper campaign” to lean on Congressman Messer and stop him from getting into the race. Congressman Messer’s team hits back, saying that Congressman Rokita doesn’t have the “juice” to stop him. [Howey Politics, 7/20/17]
- July 20: Congressman Messer’s team releases internal polling claiming that the two men are tied, and that Congressman Rokita’s attacks on Congressman Messer’s wife and his out-of-state ties are backfiring. Congressman Rokita’s team refutes the claim. [Politico Pro, 7/20/17; Twitter, 7/20/17]
- July 23: Congressman Rokita’s campaign puts out a second fundraising email attacking Congressman Messer, writing that “earlier this week, our potential primary opponent, unhinged and angry over his lackluster fundraising, sent out a panicked, dishonest email lashing out at Todd.” [Release, 7/24/17]
- July 25: A story splashed across the front page of the Indy Star and the Richmond Palladium-Item details that the fight between Congressmen Messer and Congressman Rokita has spilled onto Wikipedia, as anonymous users have been editing Congressman Messer’s page to make it less appealing to a GOP primary audience and the opposite for Congressman Rokita. Fingerpointing ensues, including Congressman Messer reiterating that “Todd has already established he will say or do anything to get elected.” [Indy Star, 7/25/17]
- July 26: Congressman Messer makes one half of the primary fight official by declaring his candidacy. However, his announcement – a tweet sent from Washington, while congress is in session, focusing on a campaign kickoff on August 12 – underwhelms, and most coverage focuses on the party’s infighting. [AP, 7/26/17]
- July 26: Congressman Rokita responds to Congressman Messer’s announcement by leaking his own poll contradicting Congressman Messer’s earlier one. It claims that he’d comfortably win a head-to-head primary and that voters are less fond of Congressman Messer’s Virginia residency when reminded of Richard Lugar and Evan Bayh. [Politico Pro, 7/26/17]
- July 27: The two co-chairs of Indiana’s Trump campaign publish an open letter noting that Congressman Rokita waivered the least in his support for Trump’s campaign. Their letter does not mention Congressman Messer by name, though it does discuss frustrations with “Republican officeholders and candidates that criticized Donald Trump whenever they felt it was politically expedient.” Congressman Rokita quickly follows up with an email from his campaign highlighting the letter and calling Congressman Messer “openly critical of Trump.” [Twitter, 7/27/17]
- July 30: Greg Pence, brother of Vice President Pence and Finance Chair of Congressman Messer’s campaign, goes on IN Focus to hit back at Congressman Rokita’s assertions, attesting to Congressman Messer’s Trump support and reminding viewers that Congressman Rokita endorsed Marco Rubio before supporting Trump. [WTTV, 7/30/17]
- August 1: State Representative Mike Braun becomes the second elected official to enter the GOP primary. Representative Braun’s entry is not only notable for his potential to self-fund but also for citing worries from Indiana Republicans about Congressmen Rokita’s and Messer’s attacks as his rationale for entering the race, and for stating that his path to victory widens if he can stay beneath the fray while the two men fight. [WIBC, 8/1/17]
- August 3: Yet another petty fight unfolds in the Indy Star between the two frontrunners, this time over spelling. Congressman Rokita’s campaign hits Congressman Messer’s for misspelling the name of the town where a campaign event will be held on a flyer. Congressman Messer’s campaign responds by mocking Congressman Rokita’s team for misspelling his own name on flyers used during last year’s failed campaign for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. [Indy Star, 8/3/17]
What people are saying about the primary:
FORT WAYNE NEWS-SENTINEL: EDITORIAL: “[Messer and Rokita are] too busy beating each other up… Things could get really brutal later on.” [News-Sentinel, 7/19/17]
INDY STAR “So far, [Messer and Rokita have] run [their] Senate campaigns (official or not) like contestants vying for airtime on a reality TV show. And while that might fit 2017 perfectly, it’s embarrassing for a couple of guys who… are seeking to move up to the upper chamber” [Indy Star, 8/3/17]
HOWEY POLITICS: “What we’re seeing on an almost hourly basis, from the emerging Indiana U.S. Senate primary between U.S. Reps. Todd Rokita, Luke Messer to the White House, is…The Grand Old Party and its “big tent”… being replaced with virulent fratricide.” [Howey Politics, 7/27/17]
LAFAYETTE JOURNAL & COURIER: “It’s clear that (Rokita) will do and say almost anything to advance his political career,” Messer recently wrote to his supporters. Here in the 4th District, that rings true. Saying anything has always been right in Rokita’s wheelhouse.” [Journal & Courier, 7/30/17]
THE STATEHOUSE FILE: “If the race for Indiana’s U.S. Senate seat on the ballot next year were a day care, both U.S. Rep. Luke Messer, R-Indiana, and U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita, R-Indiana, already would be in time out.” [The Statehouse File. 8/3/17]
POLITICO: “Luke Messer and Todd Rokita are very similar members of Congress, and that similarity is breeding contempt.” [Politico, 7/6/17]
WASHINGTON TIMES HERALD: “[It’s] a primary run that has already shown signs of being brutal before anyone even formally commits.” [Washington Times Herald, 6/8/17]
ROB KENDALL, WIBC: “You got the street brawlers against the guys with the cash. This is going to be a phenomenal, an absolutely phenomenal Republican primary… It’s like Christmas coming soon, the 2018 Indiana Republican primary.” [WIBC, 6/11/17]