Indiana Republicans reject effort to redraw voting maps in rebuke to Trump

Proposal to add two new GOP-leaning districts collapses 19–31 as 21 Republicans break ranks

A woman hold signs outside the Indiana Senate chamber at the statehouse in Indianapolis on Thursday. Photograph: Michael Conroy/AP

Indiana Republicans delivered an unexpected blow to Donald Trump and GOP strategists on Thursday by rejecting a controversial plan to redraw the state’s congressional districts. The proposal, designed to engineer two additional Republican-friendly seats, failed 19–31 after 21 Republicans joined all 10 Democrats in opposition.

The GOP currently controls seven of Indiana’s nine House seats. Under the rejected plan, Republicans would have been favored to win all nine. The map sought to accomplish this by dividing heavily Democratic Indianapolis into four separate districts and attaching parts of the city to deeply conservative areas. The proposal also would have split the northwestern district represented by Democrat Frank Mrvan, fracturing a key Democratic base.

One of the most notable Republican opponents was state senator Greg Goode, who said his position reflected the principles of his constituents, not partisan pressure.

“I am a Christian first, then an American, then a conservative, and finally a Republican — in that order,” Goode said in an extended floor speech. “I’m confident my vote reflects the will of my constituents,” he added, according to NBC News.

The Indiana proposal was part of a broader national effort by Trump to push Republican-led states into redrawing congressional maps ahead of next year’s midterms. With the GOP holding only a razor-thin majority in the House, Republicans risk losing seats unless states produce maps more favorable to their candidates. States such as Texas, North Carolina, and Missouri have already advanced maps intended to secure additional Republican districts, though in Missouri a legal maneuver by opponents appears to have paused implementation.

Democrats have countered with similar moves in states they control. California’s proposed redistricting could add as many as five new Democratic-leaning seats, while Virginia Democrats are also preparing a new map expected to shift districts in their favor.

Trump personally pressured Indiana lawmakers to approve the redistricting plan, while vice-president JD Vance made multiple visits to the statehouse to press the case in person.

“Every other State has done Redistricting, willingly, openly, and easily,” Trump wrote Wednesday on Truth Social. “There was never a question in their mind that contributing to a WIN in the Midterms for the Republicans was a great thing to do for our Party, and for America itself. Unfortunately, Indiana Senate ‘Leader’ Rod Bray enjoys being the only person in the United States of America who is against Republicans picking up extra seats, in Indiana’s case, two of them.”

The pressure campaign triggered intense backlash. In the days before the vote, Indiana Republican lawmakers received death threats and were targeted in swatting attempts — a sign of the heightened tensions around the issue.

Vance and Donald Trump Jr intensified public criticism of Senate leader Rod Bray, accusing him of misleading national Republicans. “Rod Bray, the senate leader in Indiana, has consistently told us he wouldn’t fight redistricting while simultaneously whipping his members against it,” Vance posted on Twitter. “That level of dishonesty cannot be rewarded, and the Indiana GOP needs to choose a side.”

Heritage Action — the advocacy arm of the conservative Heritage Foundation — escalated matters further on Thursday, warning that the state could face severe retaliation if lawmakers failed to pass the map. “President Trump has made it clear to Indiana leaders: if the Indiana Senate fails to pass the map, all federal funding will be stripped from the state,” the group posted on Twitter. “Roads will not be paved. Guard bases will close. Major projects will stop. These are the stakes and every NO vote will be to blame.”