This story was originally published by the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
By Tom Davies
Indiana Capital Chronicle
April 10, 2026
Top White House officials took time to repeatedly contact a politically unknown Indiana Republican in attempts at persuading her to quit her state Senate campaign in favor of a candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump.
In text messages and phone call recordings released to news outlets Friday by Alexandra Wilson, close Trump staffers and others suggested she would be in line for political appointments if she dropped out of the Republican primary.
Those attempts, first reported by NBC News, indicate the consternation among Trump supporters about Alexandra Wilson’s possible impact on the campaign prospects of Brenda Wilson, a Vigo County Council member who has the president’s endorsement against current Sen. Greg Goode of Terre Haute following the senator’s vote against the Indiana congressional redistricting plan.
The phone calls, texts and voicemail messages from White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair and Trump political affairs director Matt Brasseaux came in a flurry during the days ahead of the Feb. 13 deadline for candidates to withdraw from Indiana’s primary.
Ongoing ballot fight leaves Indiana Senate candidate stymied
Alexandra Wilson, who is in her first election campaign, has said she is a serious candidate and denied claims that she is part of a political trick to confuse voters and help Goode win the primary.
She said in a statement that she has “voted for President Trump every chance I’ve had.”
“Instead of considering the merits of my candidacy, the White House and Indiana leaders have spent countless hours trying to push me aside, including offers of potential employment in taxpayer-funded roles in exchange for my leaving the race,” she said. “They crossed a line, and Hoosiers deserve to know that.”
Goode is among seven current Republican senators running against primary challengers endorsed by Trump because of their votes against redistricting.
In a 22-minute phone conversation, Blair told Alexandra Wilson that he was calling from a flight to Germany with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Blair asked her about her motivations for running and warned her about the focus coming to the state Senate race involving national pro-redistricting groups.
Blair said he expected Wilson would face attacks over her 2010 conviction for resisting law enforcement at the age of 19, which was expunged from court records last month by a Vermillion County court.
“I just wanted to talk about that brass-tacks reality that I think it is gonna be really ugly,” Blair said. “I think, you know, we’re sort of working at cross purposes with two people with the same last name on the ballot that benefits neither of our goals.”
Alexandra Wilson’s name has remained on the ballot despite an ongoing legal challenge led by prominent conservative attorney Jim Bopp, who is a top political ally of Gov. Mike Braun and is supporting Brenda Wilson.
Brasseaux’s 12-minute call with Alexandra Wilson included what he called a “point-blank question” and asked “Is there a pathway to where you would put some thought into another route to making an impact in your community?”
“I’m just trying to think outside the box to where we can kill two birds with one stone, and you have the ability to affect change and do exactly what you’re talking about doing,” he said. “But also we have the ability to take out Greg Goode and move on.”
In a text message to Wilson, Brasseaux said he had spoken with Joshua Kelley, the governor’s chief of staff, who had options for state board appointments that could be available.
Kelley also sent a text message to Wilson the following day asking to speak with her, without an apparent response.
Wilson, who is a network engineer in information technology and is expecting a baby in May, said in the call with Blair that she wasn’t interested in taking a state administration position with lower pay and “no job security.”
In response to the Indiana Capital Chronicle’s request for comment from Kelley, the governor’s office sent a statement saying “We receive hundreds of referrals for Hoosiers interested in serving our state and it is standard practice that we follow up on those leads.”
“Mrs. Wilson was one of many who have been referred to our office,” the statement said. “Mr. Kelley reached out and she did not respond.”
Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith also left a voicemail to speak with Alexandra Wilson.
Goode said that on the day that the White House staffers were “attempting to scheme” his defeat he was working in the Senate on bills to provide more pension payments to retired teachers and improving services for special needs children.
“That is the difference between a Hoosier public servant like me and D.C. political insiders,” Goode told the Capital Chronicle.
Brenda Wilson did not respond to messages Friday seeking comment.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told NBC News that Trump’s advisers work “to ensure the best outcome and as many wins across the board as we can get.”
“This is what the political team does. They talk to candidates across the country. And it’s not, you know, again, it’s not coming from a place of malice,” Leavitt said “It is coming from a place of doing their jobs to report back to the president what’s going on in these races.”
Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com.
