Despite months of mounting and concerted pressure from the Trump administration, the Indiana Senate rejected a proposal for a new gerrymandered congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The new congressional map, which was blocked in a 31-19 vote, would have redrawn district lines to favor Republicans in the state and would have effectively kicked Indiana Democrats out of representation in the U.S. House. Its failure is a significant loss for President Trump and his nationwide redistricting pressure campaign, which, despite some initial wins, has lost some steam in red states across the country.
The new map, which was introduced earlier this month, was drawn to flip two of the state’s congressional seats currently held by Democrats for Republicans in the midterm elections, paving the way for Republicans to, more than likely, win all nine congressional seats in the state in the upcoming election.
For weeks now it’s been unclear whether Indiana lawmakers would convene at all for a session focused on redistricting. Indiana Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray announced last month that the Indiana Senate did not have the votes needed to approve the new maps. A few weeks later, though, Bray announced that lawmakers would in fact convene as part of their regular 2026 session to make a “final decision” on a redistricting proposal that both Trump and Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Braun were threatening state legislators to approve.
Before the scheduled vote, Trump took to social media to bully Indiana Republicans into caving to his nationwide gerrymandering blitz. In a Truth Social post last month, Trump went after Republicans who, at that point, had not yet declared their support for the redistricting proposal.
“If they do, I will make sure that all of those people supporting me win their Primaries, and go on to Greatness but, if they don’t, I will partner with the incredibly powerful MAGA Grassroots Republicans to elect STRONG Republicans who are ready to do what is needed to protect our Country and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Several Republican senators have been adamantly opposed to the effort for months and some spoke out for the first time ahead of Thursday’s vote.
Earlier this week, during an Indiana state Senate elections committee hearing on the proposed maps, which were moved out of the committee in a 6-3 vote, Republican state Sen. Greg Walker condemned the Trump administration’s gerrymandering campaign.
“I refuse to be intimidated,” he said. “I made a choice. I will not let Indiana or any state become subject to the threat of political violence in order to influence legislative product.”
And on Thursday, just ahead of the vote, Republican state Sen. Greg Goode, who until this point has not made his position known, emphasized the importance of keeping the current congressional map.
“Indiana did this just four years ago, the map produced was celebrated by legislative leadership, and Indiana served as a national model for getting things right through Hoosier common sense,” Goode said.
Walker along with several other Republican lawmakers opposed to Trump’s midterm-rigging effort have been the victims of threats, swatting attempts, bomb threats, and other intimidation tactics in response to their opposition to Trump.
Late last week, Turning Point Action announced that it would be partnering with other Trump-aligned super PACs to go after Indiana Republicans who oppose the state’s redistricting effort, according to reporting from Politico.
The rejection of Indiana’s gerrymandered map, comes against the backdrop of a significant win for Trump’s gerrymandering assault.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court placed a hold on a lower court ruling that blocked Texas’ aggressive gerrymander, paving the way for the state’s new heavily Republican-favoring map to be used for the 2026 midterm elections.
