Indiana Republicans block Trump’s redistricting push in a rare break with the president

Protestors hold signs outside the Indiana Senate chamber before a vote to redistrict the state's congressional map at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Republican state senators voted against a redrawn congressional map Friday that would have favored their party in the 2026 elections, a resounding rejection of a plan pushed by President Donald Trump to help his party win all nine of the state’s congressional districts.

Twenty-one senators from the Republican supermajority and all 10 of the chamber’s Democrats voted down the redistricting proposal, which would have split the city of Indianapolis into four districts and potentially eliminated the districts of the state’s two Democratic congressional representatives.

While Republican-led states like Texas, Missouri, Ohio and North Carolina have answered the redistricting call, many Indiana Republicans have hesitated over the idea of partisan gerrymandering.

The state Senators faced months of pressure from the White House, and the redistricting defeat marks a distinct break from the president by members of a party that has largely bowed to his wishes in his second term.

Indiana’s House, which also has a Republican supermajority, passed the map last week. Many Republicans are already committing to support primary opponents of the defecting senators in order to force them out of office.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Indiana state senators are expected to cast a decisive vote Thursday on a redrawn congressional map after months of pressure by President Donald Trump for a rare mid-cycle redistricting, however the outcome in the Republican-controlled chamber is still uncertain.

Trump has urged GOP-led states to gerrymander their U.S. house districts ahead of the 2026 elections to create more winnable seats for Republicans. It’s an unusual move, since the district boundaries are usually adjusted based on the census every 10 year.

The president on Wednesday criticized Indiana senators who resist the plan, repeating his vow to back primary challengers against them.

“If Republicans will not do what is necessary to save our Country, they will eventually lose everything to the Democrats,” Trump wrote on social media. Some Indiana lawmakers have also received violent threats during the debate over the last month. Half of the state Senate is up for reelection in 2026.

Democratic state senators, who number only 10, spoke against the redistricting legislation one by one during Wednesday’s session.

“Competition is healthy my friends,” said Sen. Fady Qaddoura. “Any political party on earth that cannot run and win based on the merits of its ideas is unworthy of governing.”

Outside the state Senate chamber, redistricting opponents chanted “Vote no!” and “Fair maps!” while holding signs with slogans like “Losers cheat.”

The new map is designed to give Republicans control of all nine of Indiana’s congressional seats, up from the seven they currently hold. It would effectively erase Indiana’s two Democrat-held districts by splitting Indianapolis into four districts that extend into rural areas, reshaping U.S. Rep. André Carson’s safe district in the city. It would also eliminate the northwest Indiana district held by U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan.

Despite Trump’s push, support for gerrymandering in Indiana’s Senate is uncertain. A dozen of the 50 state senators have not publicly committed to a stance. If at least four Republicans align with all of the chamber’s Democrats plus the 12 Republicans expected to vote no, the measure would fail — a sharp rebuke to Trump.

The bill needs 25 votes for passage, and a tie would be broken by Republican Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, who favors redistricting. Two Republican senators were absent Wednesday.

Republican Sen. Greg Goode, previously undecided, signaled his displeasure with the redistricting plan. In firmly delivered remarks, he said some of his constituents objected to seeing their county split up or paired with Indianapolis. He expressed “love” for Trump but criticized what he called “over-the-top pressure” from inside and outside the state.

Sen. Michael Young, another Republican, said the stakes in Congress justify redistricting, as Democrats are only a few seats away from flipping control of the U.S. House in 2026. “I know this election is going to be very close,” he said.

Republican Sen. Mike Gaskill, the redistricting legislation’s sponsor, showed Senators maps of congressional districts around the country, including several focused on Democratic-held seats in New England and Illinois. He argued other states gerrymander and Indiana Republicans should play by the same rules.

Nationally, mid-cycle redistricting so far has resulted in nine more congressional seats that Republicans believe they can win and six more congressional seats that Democrats think they can win. However, redistricting is being litigated in several states.

Texas, Missouri, Ohio and North Carolina quickly enacted new GOP-favorable maps, while California voters approved a new congressional map favorable to Democrats in response to Texas. In Utah, a judge imposed new districts that could allow Democrats to win a seat, saying Republican lawmakers violated voter-backed standards against gerrymandering.

Julia Vaughn, executive director of Indiana Common Cause, said the voting advocacy group is prepared to take legal action if the map is passed.

The bill cleared its first hurdle Monday with a 6-3 Senate committee vote, although one Republican joined Democrats in opposing it and a few others signaled they may vote against the final version. The state House passed the proposal last week, with 12 Republicans siding with Democrats in opposition.

Among them was state Rep. Ed Clere, who said state troopers responded to a hoax message claiming a pipe bomb outside his home Wednesday evening. Indiana state police said “numerous others” received threats but wouldn’t offer details about an ongoing investigation.

In an interview, Clere said these threats were the inevitable result of Trump’s pressure campaign and a “winner-take-all mentality.”

“Words have consequences,” Clere said.

The White House has mounted an aggressive lobbying push. Vice President JD Vance met twice with Indiana Senate GOP leaders, including the full caucus in October, and senators also visited him in Washington.

Trump joined a conference call with senators on Oct. 17 to make his own 15-minute pitch. State Sen. Andy Zay said White House political aides stayed in frequent contact for more than a month, even after he backed the bill, urging him to publicly support it and track developments among colleagues as part of a “full-court press.”

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Volmert reported from Lansing, Michigan. Associated Press writer Tom Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed.

Isabella Volmert And Obed Lamy, The Associated Press