Despite belonging mostly to Donald Trump’s party, Indiana state legislators turned their backs on the president and rejected a proposed redrawing of the congressional district map of the state, dealing a blow to the president’s strategy to maintain control of his party in Congress next year.
So, 21 senators from the Republican supermajority and the 10 Democrats in the chamber rejected the redistricting proposal, despite pressure from Trump, who has urged Republican-majority states to gerrymander U.S. House congressional districts ahead of the midterm elections to create more winnable seats for Republicans. This is an unusual measure, since district boundaries are usually adjusted based on the census every 10 years.
Before the vote, Trump again criticized Indiana senators who resisted the plan, repeating his promise to back primary opponents against them.
“If Republicans don’t do what is necessary to save our country, they will end up losing everything to the Democrats,” Trump wrote on social media. Some Indiana lawmakers have also received violent threats during debate last month. Half of the state Senate is up for re-election in 2026.
Democratic state senators spoke against the redistricting legislation one by one during Thursday’s session.
“Competition is healthy, my friends,” said Senator Fady Qaddoura. “Any political party in the world that cannot run and win based on the merit of its ideas is not worthy of governing.”
“Let there be no doubt: I, like many of those who will join me in voting against today, am a constitutional, fiscal and religious conservative. For me, that means believing in preserving the values, culture and institutions that gave rise to American exceptionalism,” Indiana state Sen. Spencer Deery, a Republican, said before the vote.
“My opposition to mid-cycle electoral manipulation does not contradict my conservative principles,” he added.
The proposed map was designed to give Republicans control of Indiana’s nine congressional seats, compared to the seven they currently hold. It would eliminate Indiana’s two Democratic districts by dividing Indianapolis into four districts that extend into rural areas, reshaping U.S. Rep. André Carson’s safe district in the city. It would also eliminate the northwest Indiana district held by U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan.
Nationally, mid-cycle redistricting has resulted in nine more congressional seats that Republicans think they can win and six more that Democrats think they can win. However, redistricting is being litigated in several states.
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