By Andy East | The Republic
aeast@therepublic.com
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Senate — including a majority of Republicans — on Thursday rebuffed pressure from President Donald Trump and his allies to redraw the state’s congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
In a 31-19 vote, the Indiana Senate rejected a proposed congressional map that aimed to redraw congressional districts in ways that could flip two Democratic-held seats as part of a broader national push to help preserve the GOP’s narrow majority in the U.S. House.
Redistricting is a process that is normally done once a decade after the census, not mid-decade at the request of a president seeking a partisan advantage for his party in a midterm election. Republicans currently hold seven of Indiana’s nine U.S.House seats.
The map would have placed all of Bartholomew County within Indiana’s Sixth Congressional District, eliminating the current split between the Sixth and Ninth districts in the county. A total of 5,964 registered Bartholomew County voters currently reside in the Ninth District, according to the Bartholomew County Clerk’s Office.
Sen. Greg Walker, R-Columbus, a vocal opponent of early redistricting, was among 21 Senate Republicans who joined all 10 Democrats in voting against the proposed map. Sen. Eric Koch, R- Bedford, voted for the bill.
President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, who weeks earlier said there were not enough GOP votes to pass the bill, voted against the bill Thursday.
The vote was at 4:40 p.m., following more than three hours of testimony. The Senate has adjourned and will not return to resume the session until January.
During Thursday’s Senate session, Walker questioned the constitutionality of the bill that would have redrawn the map, pointing to Article 1 of the Indiana Constitution, which states that “in all civil cases, the right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate.”
The measure would have narrowed the venues and legal avenues for challenging the map. Under the draft language, courts would be barred from issuing temporary restraining orders, and any appeals would bypass lower courts and go directly to the Indiana Supreme Court.
“I cannot myself support a bill for which there must be a legal injunction in order for it to be found constitutional, and I still don’t think that that injunction can reverse the intent of the bill,” Walker said. “I believe the bill on its face is unconstitutional.”
The Senate vote comes nearly a week after Indiana House Republicans voted 57-41 to approve the proposed map. Rep. Ryan Lauer, R-Columbus, and Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, voted in favor of the map, while Rep. Jennifer Meltzer, R-Shelbyville, voted against it.
Republican Gov. Mike Braun said he “rebuked” the state senators who voted against the bill, saying “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. 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.”
The statement seemed to indicate that Braun is pledging to work with Trump against members of his own party in Indiana to oppose state senators who voted against the bill.
Common Cause Indiana Executive Director Julia Vaughn issued a statement in response to the Indiana Senate stopping mid-decade redistricting maps from moving forward. “Our state senators have been harassed, bullied, and intimidated, and yet they stood tall to support a majority of Hoosier voices that said no mid-decade redistricting. We may not see eye to eye on everything, but those who stand up for the people will always be celebrated for doing so,” said Vaughn.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle reported that the vote means Indiana became the first Republican-led state Legislature to vote down Trump’s wish to squeeze out more GOP-friendly congressional seats in hopes of improving the party’s chances of keeping its slim U.S. House majority after the 2026 midterm elections.
Thursday’s Senate outcome came even with Trump, Braun and other redistricting supporters continuing to cajole — and politically threaten — Bray and other senators who opposed the move. Trump was calling individual senators this week seeking support and took to social media Wednesday night to seethe over Bray and other Indiana Republicans who weren’t following his demands.
“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,” Trump’s post said. “He is putting every ounce of his limited strength into asking his soon to be very vulnerable friends to vote with him.”
According to the Indiana Capital Chronicle, a social media post by Trump Wednesday night appeared to foreshadow the outcome of the Indiana Senate vote.
“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,” the post said. “One of my favorite States, Indiana, will be the only State in the Union to turn the Republican Party down!”
Bray isn’t up for election until 2028.
This story will be updated.
— The Indiana Capital Chronicle, indianacapitalchronicle.com, contributed to this story.
