In the midst of high-profile infighting, the Hoosier State’s GOP-led Senate rejected a redistricting measure that would have flipped two Democrat-held seats in the U.S. House of Representatives red. On Thursday, 21 Republicans in Indiana’s State Senate sided with the chambers only 10 Democrats in a vote against new congressional maps, while 19 Republicans backed the measure. The new maps had previously been approved by Indiana’s House in a vote of 57 to 41 and sent to the Senate floor by the Senate Elections Committee in a six to three vote earlier this week.

Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R) led the effort to reject the congressional maps, after weeks of saying that he would prefer campaigning harder for Republicans in blue districts rather than drawing new maps. “This is an extremely important issue that we’ve taken very seriously,” he said after the vote, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle. Both President Donald Trump and Governor Mike Braun (R) have been publicly pressuring Republicans to adopt the new congressional maps in time to expand the GOP’s majority in the U.S. House in the 2026 midterm elections. “It’s their prerogative to have opinions about what we’re doing here. So, that’s fair,” Bray commented, in reference to the pressure from the White House and the governor’s office. Another Indiana Senate Republican, Sue Glick, quipped, “You have to know Hoosiers, we can’t be bullied.”

Ahead of the vote, Indiana Senator Mike Gaskill (R), who sponsored the new maps in the Senate, argued that Democrats wouldn’t hesitate to redistrict to eliminate Republican-held congressional seats if they held power. “They want you to play by a different set of rules,” he told his senate colleagues. “I want to see us on the Republican side fight as hard for our side as they do,” Gaskill emphasized. Senate Majority Leader Chris Garten (R) also endorsed the new maps. “Some will say these maps are political. Let me be clear: you’re damn right they are!” he exclaimed in a fiery speech on the senate floor. Garten continued:

“If drawing a map that secures two more seats for the Republican Party means that we continue to see overdose deaths drop by 20%, then I’ll draw that map every single day of the week and twice on Sunday. If drawing a map means that we’ll continue to see a 93% drop in in illegal immigration, then I’ll sign it with a smile on my face. We’re not here to be neutral arbiters of decline, we’re here to be agents of American greatness.”

In comments to The Washington Stand, FRC Action Director Matt Carpenter observed, “The failure of the Indiana Senate, with its Republican super-majority, to find enough votes to approve new maps is the first public failure by either party to redraw maps.” He explained, “Despite multiple states having embraced mid-decade redistricting, the Supreme Court even siding with Texas in a legal challenge its new maps, apparently many in the Indiana Senate do not appreciate how precarious their party’s control on Congress is.” Carpenter continued, “It takes 218 to make a majority in the House of Representatives, and there are only 220 Republicans. History shows midterm elections are generally a referendum on the presidency, and with Democratic voters highly motivated to vote, the GOP is wise to not leave any stone unturned — including pursuing redistricting wherever they can.”

Shortly before the Indiana Senate voted on the redistricting measure, the president took to social media to encourage Republicans to back the new congressional maps, warning that he would back primaries against those who did not. “Every other State has done Redistricting, willingly, openly, and easily. There was never a question in their mind that contributing to a WIN in the Midterms for the Republicans was a great thing to do for our Party, and for America itself,” the president said over Truth Social, pointing to states like Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Utah, which have already drawn new maps, and others like Florida, where redistricting plans are underway. “Unfortunately, Indiana Senate ‘Leader’ Rod Bray enjoys being the only person in the United States of America who is against Republicans picking up extra seats, in Indiana’s case, two of them. He is putting every ounce of his limited strength into asking his soon to be very vulnerable friends to vote with him.”

“Anybody that votes against Redistricting, and the SUCCESS of the Republican Party in D.C., will be, I am sure, met with a MAGA Primary in the Spring,” the president continued. “If Republicans will not do what is necessary to save our Country, they will eventually lose everything to the Democrats. Rod Bray and his friends won’t be in Politics for long, and I will do everything within my power to make sure that they will not hurt the Republican Party, and our Country, again.”

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office after the vote, the president reiterated his intention to back primary challenges against Bray. “You had one gentleman, the head of the Senate, I guess — Bray, whatever his name is — I heard he was against it. He’ll probably lose his next primary, whenever that is. I hope he does, because he’s done a tremendous disservice,” the president said. “I’m sure that whenever his primary is — it’s, I think, in two years — but I’m sure he’ll go down, he’ll go down. I’ll certainly support anybody that wants to go against him.”

The president’s son, Donald Trump, Jr., promised to campaign for primary opponents against Indiana Republicans who voted against redistricting. “If Indiana Republicans side with these Never Trumpers to do the dirty work of Democrats, I’ll be spending a lot of time in Indiana next year campaigning against every single one of them,” he said in a social media post. “These RINO consultants sabotaging MAGA need to be rooted out of the GOP!”

Following the vote, Braun similarly pledged to support primary challenges against anti-redistricting Republicans. “I am very disappointed that a small group of misguided State Senators have partnered with Democrats to reject this opportunity to protect Hoosiers with fair maps and to reject the leadership of President Trump,” he wrote on social media. “Ultimately, decisions like this carry political consequences. I will be working with the President to challenge these people who do not represent the best interests of Hoosiers.”

Tyler Bowyer, chief operating officer of Turning Point Action, announced that the organization would begin devoting resources to primary challenges against the Republican senators who killed the redistricting measure. “Turning Point Action will be publicly endorsing opponents of the State Senators who voted against redistricting today. They thought we were bluffing,” Bowyer said. “We will educate voters and throw thousands of volunteers and staff at their local districts,” he added. In a subsequent post, Bowyer shared that TPAction has already started hiring operatives in multiple Indiana locations, commenting, “We need your help to HOLD REPUBLICANS THERE ACCOUNTABLE!”

In comments to The Washington Stand, FRC Action Director Matt Carpenter remarked, “The failure of the Indiana Senate, with its Republican super majority, to find enough votes to approve new maps is the first public failure by either party to redraw maps. Despite multiple states having embraced mid-decade redistricting and the Supreme Court even siding with Texas in a legal challenge of its new maps, apparently many in the Indiana Senate do not appreciate how precarious their party’s control on Congress is. It takes 218 to make a majority in the House of Representatives, and there are only 220 Republicans. History shows midterm elections are generally a referendum on the presidency, and with Democratic voters highly motivated to vote, the GOP is wise to not leave any stone unturned — including pursuing redistricting wherever they can.”

“The 21 Indiana Republican State Senators who voted against new maps will undoubtedly face a primary challenge, and many — probably most — will lose their primaries,” Carpenter added. “This will also increase the pressure on red states waiting in the wings to draw new maps to make the most out of redistricting.”