Rep. Marlin Stutzman is a member of the anti-leadership House Freedom Caucus, a conservative in the mold of Ted Cruz and a three-term Indiana congressman who voted against John Boehner as speaker.

Now, he wants a promotion to the Senate — and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his allies want to stop that.

Privately, McConnell has made clear to his confidantes that he wants to bolster the candidacy of Stutzman’s chief GOP rival, Rep. Todd Young, and push him over-the-top in the May 3 primary, according to sources familiar with the conversations.

Publicly, McConnell’s super PAC has made Indiana the first state of the cycle to begin an aggressive TV ad campaign on Young’s behalf. And one of the GOP leader’s closest allies, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is also spending big bucks on the airwaves to promote Young.