Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to reflect the correct wording of the last paragraph. Because of a Republic error, a quote attributed to Sen. Greg Walker in the Jan. 28 edition of The Republic contained a typo. The quote should read: “It was obvious that the maps were driven and written by Washington, D.C., insiders. …When my colleagues and I saw the maps, we knew this wasn’t good for Republicans. It wasn’t good for Democrats. It wasn’t good for the state. So, we had to stand our ground. It was a majority of my Senate Republican colleagues that agreed with my position.”
President Donald Trump has taken an interest in who Republican voters in Bartholomew and Johnson counties will choose to nominate for an Indiana State Senate seat in the upcoming primary.
In a social media post on Monday, Trump criticized Sen. Greg Walker, R-Columbus, for opposing his demands to redraw Indiana’s congressional map ahead of this year’s midterm elections. The Indiana Senate ultimate voted 31-19 — including Walker and a majority of Republicans — to reject Trump’s demands.
In the same post, the president also endorsed Walker’s opponent in the GOP primary for Indiana Senate District 41, state Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland. The post included a graphic suggesting that Davis would not win without Trump’s endorsement.
Senate District 41 includes all of Bartholomew County, as well as part of Johnson County.
Walker told The Republic on Tuesday that he was “not really at all surprised” that his opposition to early redistricting would become a focal point of the Republican primary.
“Many of us faced just a tremendous amount of pressure during the redistricting vote,” Walker said. “I knew this issue would follow (into the primary.) …We did honor President Trump’s request to look at the issue. We gave it committee hearings. We honored our oath to look at public policy issues that are before the state, and then we needed to honor our commitment to our constituents. And my constituents said exactly what I said, ‘This is not good for us.’ ”
“The president can have an opinion,” Walker added. “And I still have to put Hoosiers first, so I stand (by) my vote on that issue and all the other substantive issues and policies that I’ve had to consider over the years. I’m willing to defend them all.”
Walker, who initially said last year that he planned to retire from the Senate after his current term, changed his mind after the redistricting fight and decided to seek re-election to defend what he has described as the state’s right to govern itself without outside interference from Washington.
Davis released the following statement about Trump’s statement:
“I’m incredibly honored to have President Trump’s endorsement. It’s a strong affirmation of the conservative record I’ve built and the fights I’ve been willing to take on, including voting to protect the Republican majority when it mattered. I hope voters take away something simple: this campaign is about results, backbone, and putting Hoosier values first. For too long, conservatives have watched Republicans in Indianapolis cave at the moment of truth, and President Trump made clear that’s not acceptable. My opponent should take away that Hoosiers are done with excuses and ‘Republicans’ who vote with Democrats when the stakes are high. I’m running to win, and once we win, I’ll go to the State Senate to cut taxes, back law enforcement, secure our elections, defend the Second Amendment, and fight for Indiana families every day.”
Last year, Trump and his allies pressured Indiana lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional map to help preserve the GOP’s narrow national majority in Congress. The proposed 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.
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. The president’s party generally loses congressional seats in midterm elections.
Last year, Walker said he declined two invitations to visit the White House, including an offer to visit the Oval Office, and accused the White House of violating federal law in its push to pressure Indiana Republicans to redraw the state’s congressional ahead of this year’s midterm elections.
Walker told The Republic last year that he declined the invitation and believes it violated the Hatch Act, which bars federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity while on duty, including using their authority to interfere with or influence an election, among other things.
In December, Walker delivered a 20-minute address to his colleagues on the Senate Committee on Elections, warning that political intimidation must not be allowed to govern Indiana.
Walker’s remarks came after he and several state lawmakers were targeted in swatting incidents last month following the Senate’s announcement that it would reject Trump’s push for early redistricting.
Swatting involves making false reports of criminal incidents in an attempt attempting to create a dangerous SWAT response to the residence.
“I refuse to be intimidated,” Walker said during his address. “…I will not let Indiana or any state become subject to the threat of political violence in order to influence legislative product. I honestly don’t feel from fear for my safety. …I fear for this institution, I fear for the state of Indiana, and I fear for all states if we allow intimidation and threats to become the norm.”
“And you’re thinking, ‘Oh, it’s easy. You already said you’re not coming back. You can’t be primaried,’” Walker continued later during his address. “Well, some little seed in the back of my head says, ‘Go ahead and file.’ I think it’d be the dumbest thing I ever did in my life, but that’s what my wife thought when I ran 20 years ago.”
After the Senate voted against proposed congressional map, Gov. Mike Braun, a Republican, issued a statement that seemed to indicate that he was pledging to work with Trump against members of his own party in Indiana to oppose state senators who voted against early redistricting.
Trump, speaking from the Oval Office last year, lamented the rejection of Indiana’s proposed map and targeted Senate leadership, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
“It was obvious that the maps were driven and written by Washington, D.C., insiders,” Walker said Tuesday. “…When my colleagues and I saw the maps, we knew this wasn’t good for Republicans. It wasn’t good for Democrats. It wasn’t good for the state. So, we had to stand our ground. It was a majority of my Senate Republican colleagues that agreed with my position.”
