Pence congratulates brother on Indiana House GOP primary win

Vice President Pence congratulated Greg Pence on Tuesday after his elder brother was projected to win the Republican primary for the seat now held by Rep. Luke Messer (R-Ind.).

“Congratulations to my brother @GregPenceIN on his big primary win tonight in #IN06!” the vice president tweeted after polls closed in the Hoosier State.

“He’s making Hoosiers & the Pence family proud. Good luck in November!”

Congratulations to my brother @GregPenceIN on his big primary win tonight in #IN06! He’s making Hoosiers & the Pence family proud. Good luck in November!

— Mike Pence (@mike_pence) May 8, 2018

Greg Pence, a wealthy businessman, defeated his top Republican rivals Jonathan Lamb and Stephen MacKenzie on Tuesday for the seat his younger brother held from 2001 to 2012.

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Messer, who decided to run for Senate this election cycle instead of seek reelection, was coming in second place to political newcomer Mike Braun in the GOP’s Senate primary. With 45 percent of precincts reporting, Braun had roughly 41 percent of the vote to 29 percent each for Messer and Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.).

Greg Pence is strongly favored to win his House seat in the November midterm elections due to the demographics of Indiana’s 6th District, which encompasses rural areas in the southeastern part of the state, including suburbs of Cincinnati and Indianapolis.

President Trump won the district by more than 40 points in 2016, while Messer performed similarly over his Democratic opponent that year.

This story was updated at 10:28 p.m.