Indiana
White House tried to push a Republican candidate out of an Indiana state Senate race
White House officials offered an Indiana Senate candidate potential government jobs and appointments in exchange for dropping out of the Republican primary election next month, according to recorded phone calls and text messages released Friday.
Alexandra Wilson is running to unseat state Sen. Greg Goode (R-Terre Haute) in Indiana Senate District 38. The other challenger, Vigo County Council member Brenda Wilson, has the endorsement of President Donald Trump.
Trump has backed candidates against Goode and other Indiana senators who voted against his call to redraw the state’s congressional maps mid-decade during the legislative session last year.
Alexandra Wilson released a collection of screenshots, voicemail transcriptions and recorded calls to reporters Friday. NBC News was the first to report on the files.
“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,” Wilson said in a written statement. “They crossed a line, and Hoosiers deserve to know that.”
The files shared by Wilson show contact from Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, Gov. Mike Braun’s chief of staff Joshua Kelley, White House political director Matt Brasseaux and White House deputy chief of staff James Blair.
The calls and text messages appear to begin in early February, just after Wilson filed to run in the primary. Wilson shared call logs with WFYI but it’s not exactly clear what day each call was taken on.
When Brasseaux spoke with Wilson, he asked her to tell him about why she was running.
“I do not believe that Brenda is a good candidate,” she told Brasseaux on a call. “I don’t think she’s a good choice. I don’t, you know, I don’t think she’d be making quality choices for the local folks here.”
But Brasseaux then offered to contact what he described as the White House’s hiring office to find her a “landing spot.”
“Is that something that would be interesting to you? As far as employment?” Brasseaux asked.
Alexandra Wilson told him it would not.
In a statement sent to WFYI, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said “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. It is coming from a place of doing their jobs to report back to the president about what’s going on in these races.”
WFYI reached out to Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith and Gov. Mike Braun’s office for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
In another call with White House deputy chief of staff James Blair, he raised concerns about there being two candidates with the last name Wilson in the race, noting that it could give the edge to incumbent Goode.
Blair also told Wilson that it would be difficult for Trump to “change streams” and endorse her after first endorsing Brenda Wilson.
“If we go the three way and there is no change,” Blair said. “I think this is going to be a really nasty race.”
Blair then asked Wilson where she stood on redistricting and whether he could get her to stand down from the race. Wilson again said she would not step down.
Blair then brought up Wilson’s arrest and asked how she would explain herself to voters.
At 19, Wilson was charged with resisting arrest by vehicle, Wilson’s attorney has said, which means she did not immediately pull over for officers.
Blair warned her that it “will for sure come up” with both Greg Goode and Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray “playing for keeps.”
Before ending the call Blair asked her how much in donations she could raise and whether she had a campaign team.
“I’ve got the support of the GOP chairman,” Wilson said.
That call was made in early February. By the end of that month, James Bopp, an attorney who says he supports Brenda Wilson, would be in front of the Indiana Election Commission challenging Alexandra Wilson’s right to appear on the ballot.
Bopp challenged Alexandra Wilson’s eligibility to appear on the ballot on the grounds that she was charged with a felony. The issue has twice deadlocked the Indiana Election Commission even though Alexandra Wilson says she never pleaded to a felony, and her attorney said the charge was pleaded down to a misdemeanor.
Alexandra Wilson has since had that case expunged from her record, but that hasn’t stopped James Bopp from repeatedly asserting she is a felon, something Wilson’s attorney has warned amounts to “defamation per se.”
The primary election is May 5.
Contact Government Reporter Benjamin Thorp at bthorp@wfyi.org
Indiana
Suspects flee robbery at Chase Bank in Plainfield
PLAINFIELD, Ind. (WISH) — Suspects fled a Plainfield bank after it was robbed Tuesday afternoon, police say.
Plainfield Police Department was called at 2:10 p.m. Tuesday to the robbery of a bank in progress at Chase Bank, 807 Southfield Drive. That’s southwest of the intersection of Quaker Boulevard and Stafford Road/East County Road 450 South in the Hendricks County town.
Deputy Chief Ryan Salisbury of the Plainfield Police Department said detectives were working on the case.
The police department posted on social media on Tuesday night that no one was hurt in the robbery, and the suspects, who were not in custody, fled prior to the arrival of first responders.
Indiana
Why Sophie Cunningham turned down multi-year contract offers to return to Indiana Fever
INDIANAPOLIS — Sophie Cunningham wants to emphasize she’s perfectly happy with the Indiana Fever. She just wishes she could be locked down longer.
Cunningham, who signed a one-year, $665,000 deal with the Indiana Fever for 2026, said on her podcast, “Show Me Something,” on Tuesday night that she was frustrated with the free agency process in the condensed offseason.
She shook her head vehemently when her co-host West Wilson asked if the contract was better than she thought it would be, then said in part, “It’s tough because I came off an injury … I’m not even going to lie to you, that’s a little, kind of, frustrating.”
Fans on social media largely took that as she did not get interest from other teams, she didn’t want to return to the Fever, or she was unhappy with the salary she got.
She shut those thoughts down on social media Monday night, then expounded on her frustrations with local media at Fever training camp on Tuesday morning.
Buy 2026 Indiana Fever tickets!
“I think Twitter kind of blew up last night about a comment I made on my podcast. But that wasn’t what I meant at all,” Cunningham said. “I think if you listen to the full clip, you really understand that I just wanted to be somewhere for more than one year. I’m almost 30 years old. I want to have a home. I want to get established. And I would love to get established in a place like Indiana.”
The Fever prioritized as much financial flexibility as possible this offseason because of the new EPIC clause, which allows both Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark to renegotiate their fourth-year salaries up to the max with an extension. Boston’s salary was bumped to $1 million in 2025, and she will make the supermax from 2027-29. Clark is eligible to negotiate up to the max in 2027, and both Clark and Boston could be making the supermax starting in 2028.
Only Lexie Hull and Monique Billings got major multi-year deals with the Fever out of free agency. Hull signed for $765,000 in 2026 and $803,250 in 2027, per Her Hoop Stats, while Billings got $800,000 for both 2026 and 2027. Damiris Dantas is the only other player that got a multi-year deal out of free agency, but that was for the minimum cap hit of $277,500.
Kelsey Mitchell signed a one-year, $1.4 million supermax, Cunningham returned on a one-year deal, and Myisha Hines-Allen and Tyasha Harris each signed one-year deals.
Cunningham added that she got multi-year offers from other teams, but chose to stay with Indiana on a one-year deal.
She wanted to return to Indiana, she said, because of friendships she created with her teammates and the potential they showed, even after six separate season-ending injuries on the roster. She is also closer to her hometown of Columbia, Missouri.
“When you find a group of girls who really make you fall in love with basketball games and you enjoy it, you enjoy them, not only on the court, but off the court, like, you want to hold on to that,” Cunningham said. “ … it was never about the money, it was just about the years, because I wanted to be with them. And God forbid a girl loves her teammates, you know what I mean?”
Cunningham is also coming off a major knee injury after she tore her MCL in August 2025. She was ruled out for the rest of the 2025 season and got surgery in Indianapolis, then had a six-month rehab process before she was cleared in February.
Since then, she has been ramping back up as much as possible, including playing one-on-one, three-on-three, plyometrics, and everything she does to get ready for a regular season.
Still, she said, she’ll need to actually play to get back into full basketball shape.
“Basketball shape is just different,” Cunningham said. “You can run as many suicides as you want, you can get your butt kicked however you want, but until you’re out here playing, you’re never fully going to be in game shape until you’re playing games.”
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at chloe.peterson@indystar.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.
Indiana
Indiana police find semi trailer loaded up with nearly 400 pounds of cocaine: troopers
CLOVERDALE, Ind. (WKRC) – Authorities in Indiana found a semi trailer loaded up with hundreds of pounds of suspected cocaine.
According to a statement issued by the Indiana State Police (ISP), 27-year-old Harmandeep Singh of Bakersfield, California was taken into custody after nearly 400 pounds of suspected cocaine were reportedly found in the trailer of a commercial truck.
Per the statement, an ISP trooper seized the suspected cocaine during a traffic stop on Interstate 70 in Putnam County, authorities said.
The stop occurred Tuesday morning near the 37-mile marker, just east of Cloverdale, after a commercial motor vehicle was observed exceeding the posted speed limit.
Police said Singh displayed several indicators of possible criminal activity during the encounter. After obtaining consent to search the vehicle, troopers discovered multiple duffel bags and cardboard boxes in the trailer containing approximately 392 pounds (178 kilograms) of suspected cocaine.
Authorities estimated the street value of the drugs at about $9 million.
Singh was taken into custody and taken to the Putnam County Jail, where he is being held on a $30,000 cash bond.
He faces the following preliminary charges, per the post:
- Possession of a narcotic drug
Formal charges will be determined by the Putnam County prosecutor.
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
Indiana State Police said drug interdiction remains a priority, with troopers focusing on major highways to disrupt the flow of illegal narcotics into the state.
-
New York54 minutes agoTrump’s Immigration Crackdown Pervades Long Island Suburbs
-
Detroit, MI1 hour agoChris Simms projects Detroit Lions first-round NFL draft pick
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoSan Francisco sets $3.4B price tag for public takeover of PG&E
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoGame Day Guide: Stars at Wild | Dallas Stars
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoMay a steadying presence as Cards hold off Marlins in Miami
-
Boston, MA2 hours agoTyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe flex in Boston: Takeaways from Celtics-76ers Game 2
-
Denver, CO2 hours agoMotorcyclist seriously injured in Denver hit-and-run crash – AOL
-
Seattle, WA2 hours agoBrock: 2 drafts fits at edge rusher for Seattle Seahawks