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Indiana state lawmakers have rejected a proposed map creating two new heavily red-leaning districts, a stunning blow to President Donald Trump's hotly contested redistricting campaign.
The state senate on Dec. 11 voted down a plan that would have made Indiana join a half-dozen other states that passed new congressional election maps ahead of the 2026 midterms. As a result, Trump was unable to convince enough Republican state senators to approve the redistricting plan, even though the GOP holds a supermajority in the chamber.
In a rare setback for Trump's party, 21 Republicans voted against the bill – more than the 19 who voted for it – while all 10 Democrats voted against it.
During a signing ceremony at the White House hours later, Trump downplayed his defeat in Indiana.
"I wasn’t working on it very hard," Trump told reporters, adding that he's won the state in the last three presidential elections. "It would’ve been nice. We would’ve picked up two seats if we did (win)."
The president then took aim at Indiana state Senate leader Rodric Bray, one of the 21 Republicans who voted against the bill.
"He’ll probably lose his next primary, whenever that is," Trump added. "I hope he does, because he’s done a tremendous disservice."
Indiana redistricting vote came under intense scrutiny, death threats
Indiana's redistricting vote came amid much scrutiny for lawmakers, even death threats, as the map would have given Republicans gains nationally while both political parties engage in a multi-state redistricting face-off to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives during Trump's final two years in office.
"Friends, we’re better than this. Are we not?" said Indiana state Sen. Greg Goode, a Republican from Terre Haute, who voted against the map, in response to the threats. "Use your common sense, and my vote will reflect that, common sense."
Before the vote, Indiana State Sen. Spencer Deery, a Republican from West Lafayette, said he was voting against the bill. Deery said he refused to be bullied by the federal government and that his opposition is not in contrast with his "conservative principles, but in line with them."
"It's time for patriots to stand by the Constitution," Deery said. "It’s time to say 'no' to pressure from Washington, DC, and the outsiders who are trying to run our state."
State Sen. La Keisha Jackson, a Democrat whose district includes portions of Indianapolis and voted against the bill, described the map as "fragmentation" with "consequences." The new boundaries would have reshaped the two districts currently held by Democrats, splitting the state's largest city, Indianapolis, into four districts.
"What this map does is dilutes the voices and divides us," said Jackson, who then borrowed a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "The time is always right to do the right thing."
Eric Holder, chair of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, praised Indiana lawmakers' "courage" in a Dec. 11 statement. Holder believes the votes are "a hopeful sign and perhaps an indication" that democracy could outweigh party loyalty heading into the 2026 midterms.
"As Washington Republicans continue to fuel this national gerrymandering crisis, their counterparts in state capitols across the country should ask themselves, 'what would Indiana do?'" said Holder, the former attorney general under President Barack Obama. "And the answer is, stand up for the people and protect democracy."
Trump amped up pressure ahead of the vote
The vote wasn't as close as expected and only took minutes to conclude.
Democrats, as expected, vehemently opposed the new map. GOP state lawmakers were not in tandem with the president on the issue, creating tumult within the state party and drawing the commander-in-chief's public ire.
Amid shouting from protesters in the gallery, state Sen. Liz Brown, a Republican from Fort Wayne, who supported the redistricting, said not passing the map will limit the interests of Republicans in Indiana.
"Hoosier voices are going to be harder to hear," Brown said. "Without this, they are going to be silenced because there will be no conservative voices in Washington. The few from this state will be yelled and screamed at, not unlike some in our gallery, by the Democrats controlling our Congress."
Meanwhile, many Republican state senators opposed the rare mid-decade redistricting, including Bray, the state Senate leader. In turn, the president has threatened to pull support for Bray and endorse primary challengers to take his seat.
"Anybody that votes against Redistricting, and the SUCCESS of the Republican Party in DC, will be, I am sure, met with a MAGA Primary in the Spring," Trump said in a Dec. 10 social media post.
A day later, the president reiterated that threat to reporters, mentioning Bray by name, during a signing ceremony at the White House.
"I’m sure whenever his primary – is it in two years? I’m sure he’ll go down," said Trump about Bray, who will be up for reelection in 2026. "I certainly will support somebody who wants to go against him."
The White House's pressure campaign has been ramping up for months. The president sent Vice President JD Vance to the Indiana statehouse twice to try to shore up Republican support. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson reportedly made several calls to Indiana state senators in his own lobbying attempts.
Meanwhile, allies have formed various nonprofit groups and political action committees dedicated to convincing lawmakers to vote yes. The groups have also pledged to find primary opponents against lawmakers who vote no.
Some state lawmakers also received threats of violence since the legislative session convened on Nov. 18.
Indiana will not join other state redraws
Trump ignited the nationwide redistricting battle during the summer when he convinced Texas Republicans they urgently needed to draw a new congressional map, even though there was no new census data prompting such a move.
California voters then overwhelmingly approved a move to redraw their maps, billing the measure as a means of negating Texas' gains by adding five blue-leaning districts. Other states, controlled by Republicans and Democrats, have also initiated recent redistricting efforts.
Before he voted in support of the redistricted map, Indiana Sen. Chris Garten, a Republican from Charlestown, gave an impassioned speech and pointed to other states where Democrats control every district.
"We're here to be agents of American greatness," Garten said. "By passing this (bill), we are amplifying the Hoosier voice system that is saving this country."
Garten added, "The White House has made the call. And it's time for Indiana to answer."
But Indiana didn't respond to Trump's plea as the current Republican majority remains razor-thin in the House − the key to one party's control for Trump's last two years in office.
To date, six states have redrawn maps that determine the geographic pool of voters who can vote for representatives to occupy vacancies in the U.S. House. At least another eight states are considering changing their maps, in what the National Conference of State Legislatures calls the biggest flurry of such activity since the 1800s.
Contributing: Kayla Dwyer, USA TODAY NETWORK; Joey Garrison and Bart Jansen USA TODAY; Reuters.
Kathryn Palmer is a politics reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@usatoday.com and on X @KathrynPlmr. Sign up for her daily politics newsletter here.
Terry Collins is a national correspondent for USA TODAY. You can reach him at tcollins@usatoday.com and on X @terryscollins.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Indiana lawmakers reject new congressional maps amid Trump pressuring
Reporting by Kathryn Palmer and Terry Collins, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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