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

Indiana Republicans rejected an effort to redraw the state’s congressional map on Thursday, a stunning and blunt rebuke of Donald Trump and Republican efforts to reconfigure the state’s congressional districts to add two more Republican-friendly seats.

The measure failed 19-31, with 21 Republicans joining 10 Democrats in rejecting the new maps.

Republicans currently represent seven of Indiana’s nine congressional districts. The new map would have favored Republicans in all nine districts. It would have accomplished this by carving up the Democratic-stronghold of Indianapolis into four districts and appending a slice of its voters to heavily GOP districts. It would have also split the congressional district in the north-west of the state, currently represented by Frank Mrvan, in two.

State senator Greg Goode, a key Republican holdout on the bill, voted against the map, saying he was reflecting the will of his constituents.

“I’m a Christian first, then an American, then a conservative, then a Republican – in that order,” he said in a lengthy floor speech. “I’m confident that my vote reflects the will of my constituents,” he said in a speech on the floor, according to NBC News.

The push in Indiana came amid a nationwide push by Trump across the country to redraw district lines to add Republican seats ahead of next year’s midterms. Republicans currently hold a razor thin majority in the House and are expected to lose seats. Republicans, in Texas, North Carolina, and Missouri have all redrawn their maps to add Republican seats (organizers in Missouri appear to have successfully deployed a unique legal mechanism to block the maps there).

Democrats have retaliated by redrawing maps in California to add as many as five seats in their favor. Democrats in Virginia are also poised to redraw maps to add Democratic seats.

Trump engaged in a bare-knuckled effort to pressure Indiana Republicans to pass the map and vice-president JD Vance traveled to the state capitol multiple times to meet with lawmakers.

“Every other State has done Redistricting, willingly, openly, and easily. 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,” Trump posted on Truth Social, his social media network, Wednesday evening. “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.”

Indiana state Republicans faced death threats and swatting attempts in the lead up to the vote.

Vance and Donald Trump Jr also attacked Bray ahead of the vote on Thursday. “Rod Bray, the senate leader in Indiana, has consistently told us he wouldn’t fight redistricting while simultaneously whipping his members against it. That level of dishonesty cannot be rewarded, and the Indiana GOP needs to choose a side,” Vance posted on Twitter.

Heritage Action, the advocacy branch of the conservative Heritage Foundation, also posted on Thursday that the state would lose federal funding if it did not 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. 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,” the organization posted on Twitter.