Republican Sen. Todd Young didn’t get Donald Trump’s endorsement. Understandable. Young voted to accept the Electoral College results showing Trump lost.
He actually protected certificates of results from the states as insurrectionists stormed the Capitol. He also described Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the conspiracy theorist who is a Trump favorite, as “nutty” and said she should have no place in the Republican Party.
But Young wanted Trump’s endorsement. Understandable. Young knew a Trump endorsement in Indiana, where Trump won so big twice, would eliminate any serious challenge in the May Republican primary and just about assure victory in the fall. He reportedly sent inquiries about an endorsement, which could have been based on Young’s support for Trump’s legislative proposals and opposition to impeachment. No endorsement.
Lack of endorsement, however, now is of little significance. Understandable. It’s understandable because as it turns out, Young has no opponent in the Republican primary. The only challenger who filed, attacking Young as not conservative enough, didn’t file the number of signatures required to get on the ballot. So, Young will win renomination unopposed. And without danger of a divisive primary, Young is almost certain of reelection.
There is, however, one bit of good news for Democrats as they look at Young’s strong position, including having more than $6 million in campaign cash, in a Republican state in what is forecast as a Republican year. The Democratic nominee for the Senate will be five-term Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., long viewed as a potential statewide candidate.
McDermott, a Notre Dame Law School graduate and former Navy submariner, is willing to take on the long-shot challenge in order to bring discussion of issues, national and state, and provide some energy for Hoosier Democrats as their ticket leader. He also is unopposed in the Democratic primary after two others failed to obtain enough signatures.
McDermott’s chances for an upset were diminished when Young’s potential primary opponent, Danny Niederberger, the guy who said Young wasn’t conservative enough, also failed to get enough signatures.
A charge of “not conservative enough” in a Republican primary these days usually refers not to conservative philosophy but to the target being “not Trumpy enough.”
Niederberger, if he had been able to run and got a Trump endorsement, could have caused problems for Young, though likely not enough to defeat him in the primary. But then anything seems possible in an Indiana Republican primary after Sen. Dick Lugar, a statesman, lost to a goofus who went on to lose a “safe” Republican seat.
Young has traditional conservative credentials, with 100% ratings from some conservative evaluators. Heritage Action gives Young a conservative grade of 96% for 2020-21 Senate votes. Lindsey Graham, Trump’s golfing buddy, got 84%.
But Trump, not concerned about grades on traditional conservative fiscal policy, was not about to endorse someone who voted to accept the Electoral College results. He might have in vengeance endorsed Niederberger had he made it onto the ballot.
Young not only voted to accept Electoral College results, he also denounced the storming of the Capitol, saying, “Those terrorists tried to interrupt peaceful transition of power and violated our cathedral of democracy.”
In hurrying to safety that day, Young found himself next to a staffer lugging a wooden box with leather handles that contained official election certificates from the states. Inspired by the staffer’s sense of duty, he walked along beside her as they looked out for danger and hurried toward safety.
Young could have grabbed the box and turned the certificates over to the insurgents for destruction, causing even more chaos than Trump wanted Mike Pence to bring. Then Trump would have endorsed Young. For Trump: Understandable.
