Mike Braun wins Indiana GOP governor nod, with Jim Banks lined up to succeed him in the Senate

Republican Sen. Mike Braun won the Indiana Republican nomination for governor, NBC News projects, making him the favorite to succeed term-limited Gov. Eric Holcomb as Rep. Jim Banks secured the GOP nomination to succeed Braun in the Senate.

And in the House, NBC News projects Rep. Victoria Spartz saw off a Republican primary challenger for her seat, leading a slate of interesting congressional fights on the GOP side.

Braun jumped into the governor's race as the favorite, despite a crowded field that included former state commerce Secretary Brad Chambers, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and businessman Eric Doden. After winning former President Donald Trump’s endorsement last fall, he had appeared to be the front-runner in the race, but the large group of candidates and massive television spending injected uncertainty into the contest.

Braun was outspent on the airwaves by both Chambers and Doden — candidates and outside groups spent more than $45 million on ads, according to AdImpact. In some of the most present ads, Braun and his allies aired a healthy slate of spots highlighting his Trump endorsement, Chambers tried to frame himself as an outsider, Doden criticized Braun as a creature of Washington and Crouch emphasized her push to help save funding for disabled children.

And the race got messy — Braun and Doden got into a spat over support for police and the Black Lives Matter protests, candidates got into a back-and-forth over how they’d stand up to China.

Holcomb, the outgoing governor, posted messages on the social media platform X (formally known as Twitter), warning candidates “you won’t be able to rely on slogans or empty campaign promises to yield positive results.” (Holcomb didn’t back a successor.)

Meanwhile, with