‘A MONUMENTAL BETRAYAL’: Indiana Won’t Gerrymander for Trump

Indiana’s Senate leader announced Friday that the chamber will not reconvene in December to redraw the state’s congressional map, after months of pressure from President Donald Trump. 

Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R) said the decision comes down to simple math: Too many Republican senators refused to support a mid-cycle redraw to a map that already gives the party a 7–2 edge — a larger advantage than its vote share merits.

Democratic voters are about 45% of the state’s affiliated voters.

“Over the last several months, Senate Republicans have given very serious and thoughtful consideration to the concept of redrawing our state’s congressional maps,” Bray said. “Today, I’m announcing there are not enough votes to move that idea forward, and the Senate will not reconvene in December.”

The development is a setback for Trump’s plan to pressure GOP-controlled legislatures into redrawing their maps mid-decade — a tactic aimed at squeezing out additional Republican seats even in states where the party already enjoys safe majorities.

Indiana was supposed to be one of the easier pickups, with Gov. Mike Braun (R) openly pushing for the special session.

“I called for our legislators to convene to ensure Hoosiers’ voices in Washington, D.C., are not diluted by the Democrats’ gerrymandering,” Braun said following Friday’s news. “Our state senators need to do the right thing and show up to vote for fair maps. Hoosiers deserve to know where their elected officials stand on important issues.”

But a bloc of Republican senators refused to sign on — a break in ranks with national implications.

The backlash from Trump allies was immediate and furious.

“A MONUMENTAL BETRAYAL IS UNFOLDING IN INDIANA RIGHT NOW,” Alex Bruesewitz, a Trump adviser, said Friday. “The entire MAGA movement will be mobilizing to Indiana to PRIMARY and OUST every last RINO blocking these essential reforms to RESCUE our nation, this will include the totally clueless and weak State Senate President.”

Democrats in the state legislature framed the abandonment as a victory for voters, who won’t have Washington operatives manipulating Indiana’s political landscape. 

“Washington insiders pressured the Governor to rig Indiana’s congressional maps in the middle of a decade for one reason. They were afraid of voters. They were afraid of losing power the honest way,” Senate Minority Leader Shelli Yoder (D) said. “Now that this reckless idea has collapsed, our focus can return to where it should have been all along. Hoosiers. Their budgets. Their safety. Their health. Their future. This should have never been considered.”

Indiana is not the only red state where Trump’s mid-cycle redistricting pressure campaign has sputtered

Kansas Republicans also failed to secure enough support earlier this fall for a special session to redraw the state’s congressional districts — a state where internal GOP resistance derailed Trump’s efforts. 

Taken together, these developments signal a growing — if still limited — willingness from GOP officials resisting Trump’s most aggressive demands. 

Another setback for Trump came in Utah, where a court this week sided with voters by rejecting the GOP’s gerrymander and selecting a fairer map for 2026, likely giving Democrats one of the state’s four seats.