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Trump had threatened to support electoral challengers to any Republican senators who refused to vote in favor of the map
Joseph AxThursday 11 December 2025 22:29 GMTComments
CloseSen. Garten speaks in favor of redistricting Indiana
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In a rare rebuke to President Donald Trump, the Indiana Senate on Thursday rejected a new congressional map, dealing a significant blow to his nationwide efforts to implement more favorable electoral boundaries.
The vote, 31-19 against, saw more than half of Republican senators join all 10 Democrats in opposing the measure, despite a months-long pressure campaign from the White House aimed at the holdouts.
Trump had personally intervened, threatening to back electoral challengers against any Republican senators who defied his wishes, even naming several in a series of hostile social media posts leading up to Thursday's vote.
The proposed map, which had cleared the Indiana state House last week, was designed to secure a likely 9-0 sweep of the state's U.S. House seats for Republicans in next year's midterms, where control of Congress will be at stake.
The redrawn map would have reshaped the two districts currently held by Democrats, including by splitting the state's largest city, Indianapolis, into four districts. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)The redrawn map would have reshaped the two districts currently held by Democrats, including by splitting the state's largest city, Indianapolis, into four districts, a move that Democrats have said will harm minority voters in particular.
Republican lawmakers who backed the law on Thursday urged other Republicans to pass the bill and help Trump's agenda in Congress, warning that a Democratic House would pursue dangerous policies.
In a fiery speech, Senator Chris Garten said nothing less than the future of the country was at stake. The sponsor of the bill, Mike Gaskill, suggested the "second U.S. Civil War has already begun."
Senator Spencer Deery, one of three Republicans who spoke out against the bill during the floor debate, acknowledged he also did not want to see Democrats win a House majority.
"But that isn't for me to decide, and it isn't for anybody in this body to decide either," he continued. "Living in a free constitutional republic means we empower voters to make those decisions, and we accept their will no matter what."
Redistricting typically occurs at the start of each decade to incorporate new U.S. Census data. But Trump ignited a nationwide battle this summer, when he successfully urged Texas Republicans to draw a new congressional map taking aim at five Democratic incumbents.
In response, Democrats in California proposed their own redrawn map intended to flip five Republican seats, a plan that was overwhelmingly approved by voters in November. Other states, both Republican- and Democratic-controlled, have initiated their own redistricting efforts.
Some state lawmakers have balked, however. Trump's push stalled in Kansas amid reluctance from some Republicans, while Democrats in Maryland are split on whether to advance a new map.
Democrats must flip only three Republican seats in the 435-member House next year to win a majority.
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