President Trump’s redistricting push slammed into a stone wall Thursday in Indiana, where Republicans in the state Senate refused to break tradition and redraw congressional maps designed to protect the GOP’s slim House majority in next year’s midterms.
The state Senate voted 19-31 against the proposal to adopt a map that would net Republicans two congressional seats to likely give them total control of the state’s 9-person congressional delegation.
The vote carried the feel of a David-vs.-Goliath showdown. Mr. Trump and his powerful allies mounted a heavy pressure campaign, only to be rebuffed by fellow Republicans who stood their ground — making it clear they were not comfortable with being dragged into the national fight and bristled at the president’s combative, top-down approach.
In the final tally, 21 Republicans voted against the new map.
It is a striking rebuke to Mr. Trump’s broader redistricting effort and comes as he is already reeling from election setbacks, sagging poll numbers and fractures within the MAGA movement.
State Sen. Greg Goode, who faced stiff criticism from Mr. Trump, said his opposition reflected his constituents’ will and Hoosier “common sense.”
“The consensus of Hoosiers in District 38 is to vote against HB1032,” he said, citing voters’ concerns over how the new districts were drawn.
While stressing his respect for Mr. Trump, Mr. Goode urged colleagues to return to bread‑and‑butter issues like affordability and away from the vitriolic politics that have “infiltrated” Indiana through “cruel social media posts, threats of primaries, and threats of violence.”
He added: “Friends, we are better than this, are we not?”
Other Republicans said that giving the federal government more power is not conservative and raised legal concerns. State Sen. Greg Walker argued the map was “on its face, unconstitutional.”
Supporters delivered impassioned pleas, highlighting how blue states across the country have gerrymandered their congressional districts in their favor, drowning out conservative voices.
“The guys are playing for keeps!” said state Sen. Mike Gaskill, the bill’s co-sponsor. “I want to see us on the Republican side fight as hard for our side as they do for theirs.”
“I’m going to submit to you that the second U.S. Civil War has already started,” he said. “They’re just fighting it with surrogates.”
State Sen. Liz Brown said the state has a responsibility to send more Republicans to Washington to counter Democratic policies on abortion, spending and transgender issues.
“Hoosier voices are going to be harder to hear,” Ms. Brown said. “Without this, they’re going to be silenced because there will be no conservative voices in Washington, D.C.”
State Sen. Chris Garten argued that Mr. Trump needs reinforcements in Washington to keep cleaning the mess he inherited from President Biden at home and overseas.
“When your house is on fire, you don’t worry about whether you’re traditionally holding the hose right,” Mr. Garten said. “You do whatever it takes to put out the fire.”
All 10 Democrats in the chamber lined up against the plan.
With the push for new congressional maps hanging in the balance, Mr. Trump and his allies put on a final full-court press on the Republican holdouts.
The president zeroed in on Senate leader Rodric Bray, blasting him as “either a bad guy, or a very stupid one” and accusing him of siding with “radical left” Democrats.
On Truth Social, Mr. Trump warned that anyone who votes against redistricting could expect a MAGA-backed primary challenge. “Rod Bray and his friends won’t be in politics for long,” Mr. Trump said Wednesday night.
Mr. Bray is not up for reelection until 2028.
Still, he and other Republicans who opposed the effort faced intense political pressure to fall in line behind Mr. Trump. Vice President J.D. Vance lobbied senators, and House Speaker Mike Johnson reached out shortly before the vote. State lawmakers also faced pipe bomb threats and swatting incidents.
The Senate Republicans who voted “no” now find themselves on MAGA’s most wanted list.
Before the vote, Brett Galaszewski, national enterprise director for Turning Point Action, warned that if the state Senate shoots down the map, it will lead to “a multiyear primary bloodbath.”
“We’re talking more money pouring in than many congressional races ever see,” he said. “These Republican senators will go from hero to zero overnight.”
Heritage Action, the political arm of conservative Heritage Foundation, said that Mr. Trump has vowed to strip “all federal funding” if the Senate fails to pass the map.
“Roads will not be paved. Guard bases will close. Major projects will stop,” the group said. “These are the stakes and every NO vote will be to blame.”
Despite the uproar, political analysts said the proposed map would likely net Republicans only two seats, limiting the impact on the 2026 midterm elections.
Mr. Trump also conceded this week that redistricting may not save the GOP.
“For whatever reason, and no one has been able to give me an answer, when you win the presidency, you seem to lose the midterms, even if you win the presidency by a lot, and you do a great job as president,” he said.
“It doesn’t make sense,” he said. “Usually, I can figure things out.”
An AP-NORC Center Poll released Thursday showed Mr. Trump’s approval rating is stuck at 36%, the lowest since the beginning of his term. His biggest challenge appears to be voters’ views of the Trump economy, with 31% approving — the lowest marks he has received in either of his two terms.
The finding comes at the tail end of a year in which Republicans have suffered several setbacks at the ballot box, energizing Democrats as they prepare for the midterm elections.
