Indiana Redistricting Push Goes Down In Flames As Majority Of Republicans Reject Trump’s Appeals
Republicans’ attempt to redraw Indiana’s congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterm elections collapsed Thursday after 21 GOP state senators broke with their party and joined Democrats in voting against new districts.
Had the proposed map passed, Republicans could have gained two additional seats in the Hoosier State, giving them full control of all nine House seats. Despite pressure from President Donald Trump, other major national Republicans and conservative groups, a slight majority of Republican senators refused to support the map, resulting in a 19-31 defeat.
The setback reduces the gains Republicans hoped to make after Trump sparked a mid-decade redistricting battle earlier this year by urging Texas to draw a new map that created five new Republican-leaning seats. (RELATED: Virginia Democrats Vow Counterattack After GOP Map Win: ‘We Didn’t Want To Have To Do This’)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – JULY 25: Indiana State Senators meet in the Senate Chamber of the Indiana State Capitol building on July 25, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images)
Uncertainty hung over the Indiana vote until the final hours, as several key Republican senators kept their positions quiet for weeks.
Republican Sen. Greg Goode, one of the lawmakers who remained silent on his position until Thursday, said he respected the advocacy of Trump and other pro-redistricting Republicans but stressed his duty was to the people he represents.
“I am confident that my vote reflects the will of my constituents,” Goode said during a speech, emphasizing “greater common sense.”
Another Republican said “no,” Sen. Spencer Deery, said he found “no justification that could outweigh the damage this would inflict on the people’s faith in the integrity of our elections and our system of government.”
“Some say we should gerrymander because Democrats have been doing it for years and it’s time for Republicans to catch up,” Deery said before the vote. “That would be a sensible question to ask four years ago or four years in the future.”
Over the past month, the president has repeatedly targeted Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, who resisted opening a special session after insisting that the Republican Party lacked votes. Trump called Bray a Republican in Name Only (RINO) and threatened to support primary challenges against him and any other Republican who opposed the new map.
“Everyone who votes against redistricting and against the SUCCESS of the Republican Party in Washington will, I am sure, find themselves in a MAGA primary in the spring,” Trump wrote in a lengthy article published Wednesday on Truth Social. “Rod Bray and his friends will not last long in politics, and I will do everything in my power to make sure they do not harm the Republican Party and our country again.”
As debates were underway in the state Legislature, Vice Speaker J.D. Vance also addressed X to accuse Bray of publicly claiming neutrality while privately urging his colleagues to vote no.
“This level of dishonesty cannot be rewarded, and the Indiana GOP must choose sides,” Vance wrote on X.
Rod Bray, the Senate leader in Indiana, has consistently told us he would not oppose redistricting while whipping his members against it. This level of dishonesty cannot be rewarded and the Indiana GOP must choose sides. https://t.co/63Vg7qkpDg
– JD Vance (@JDVance) December 11, 2025
Turning Point Action, the political advocacy arm of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), also aggressively pushed for the map’s passage, holding a rally at the Indiana Capitol on Friday and threatening an eight-figure campaign against Republicans who voted no.
During his speech, Goode said forces outside Indiana had “infiltrated the political affairs” of the state, citing “cruel” social media posts and “exaggerated” pressure that included “threats of primaries” and “threats of violence.”
Several Republican senators were also targeted with bomb threats and calls for a crush in the weeks leading up to the vote.
“This recent pattern of threatening behavior and attempted intimidation is not only concerning, but also illegal,” Sen. Mike Bohacek said Dec. 1 after receiving one of the threats. Bohacek, who has a daughter with Down syndrome, said he was voting against the map after Trump used the word “retard” to describe Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz over his state’s welfare fraud scandal involving Somalis.
Indiana’s rejection of the new map comes as Republicans elsewhere have scored major redistricting victories. Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio approved new maps, bringing the GOP’s likely 2026 collection total to nine, including Texas.
However, the Republican Party’s national redistricting wave came to a halt in Kansas in November after Republican House Speaker Dan Hawkins announced he did not have the votes to call a special session to redraw the map targeting the state’s only Democratic member of Congress.
Meanwhile, California voters approved a partisan measure in November that could give Democrats up to five additional seats, and a Utah judge recently selected a House map that offers the party a pickup opportunity. Virginia Democrats are also trying to redraw their maps to add up to two seats to the national Democratic total.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent, nonpartisan news service, is available free to any legitimate news publisher capable of delivering a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and DCNF affiliation. For questions about our guidelines or our partnership, please contact licenses@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
