President Donald Trump is adamant that the battle over redistricting in Indiana is far from finished. This stance comes despite the state Senate, controlled by Republicans, once again declining on Tuesday to reconvene this year for a special session to craft new congressional maps.
The internal rift among Indiana’s Republican lawmakers was evident as senators decided to defer any redistricting actions until the regular session in January. This defiance comes despite Trump’s warnings of backing primary opponents against lawmakers who resist redistricting efforts.
Trump has taken to social media to criticize certain senators, including Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray. Bray recently announced that there weren’t sufficient votes to move a redistricting proposal forward and that the Senate would not be meeting to address it.
On Tuesday, Trump voiced his disapproval of Bray on Truth Social, warning, “Soon, he will have a Primary Problem, as will any other politician who supports him in this stupidity.” However, Bray and half of the Senate are not due for reelection until 2028.
This vote marks the latest instance of resistance against Trump and his ally, Republican Governor Mike Braun. Both are advocating for the GOP to leverage their supermajority in the legislature to redraw Indiana’s congressional districts before the year’s end.
Typically, states redraw district boundaries every decade following the census. However, Trump is pushing for Indiana and other Republican-led states to design maps that favor GOP candidates, aiming to secure their control of the U.S. House in the 2026 elections. The stakes are significant, as the Democrats only need to gain a few seats, and historically, midterm elections tend to favor the party not holding the presidency.
The blow to Trump’s efforts came as a federal court on Tuesday derailed, for now, his hopes to secure more seats in Texas. A panel of three judges blocked the state from using a new congressional map that would boost Republicans.
Republicans currently outnumber Democrats in Indiana’s congressional delegation 7-2.
Braun suggested in a statement that he is exploring ways to compel the Senate to return in December and take a vote. But his options remain unclear, other than maintaining political pressure on Republicans refusing to go along.
“I will support President Trump’s efforts to recruit, endorse and finance primary challengers for Indiana’s senators who refuse to support fair maps,” Braun said.
Republican infighting
Braun first called for a special session last month and lawmakers initially agreed to meet in early December. That was before Bray’s declaration last week. Senators voted 29-19 Tuesday to reconvene in January instead.
Braun, a first-term governor, said he had a call with Trump Monday.
“This is a slap in the face of the governor of the state of Indiana to do something like this,” state Sen. Michael Young, who favors redistricting, said on the floor Tuesday. Lawmakers were gathered at the statehouse for a ceremonial day that occurs each year before the regular session in January.
Republican Sen. Greg Goode, whom Trump called out by name on social media over the weekend for resisting redistricting, was the victim of a swatting attempt on Sunday. Goode said in a statement Tuesday he will not take a public stance on the topic until he sees an official map.
More state senators have come out against redistricting this week, including a handful of Republicans calling for their party to focus instead on flipping a Democratic seat in northwest Indiana. The 1st Congressional District has been seen as a possible pickup for Republicans in recent years.
“The message from my district has been clear — they do not support mid-cycle redistricting, and therefore I cannot support it,” state Sen. Travis Holdman, who represents a rural district near Fort Wayne, said in a statement Tuesday. “I do not believe redrawing our map will guarantee a 9-0 result.”
It is unclear whether the state House, which does have the votes to take up redistricting, will return in December. Speaker Todd Huston told lawmakers to keep the first two weeks of December open on their calendars. Yet in a statement, Huston said he hopes one day that Congress prohibits mid-cycle redistricting.
“But until that happens, Indiana cannot bury its head in the sand,” Huston said.
Redistricting fight grows
Texas was the first state to kick off the redistricting fight this year. Republicans redrew the state’s congressional map to give the GOP five additional seats. Voters in California recently approved a ballot initiative that would give Democrats five more seats.
Both plans are now mired in legal battles.
Republicans in Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have all adopted new districts to boost the GOP, while the Democratic-led Virginia General Assembly has taken a step toward redistricting with a proposed constitutional amendment.
Efforts have come up short in the Republican-led Kansas Legislature and in Democratic-led Illinois and Maryland.
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