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In a surprising action, Hoosier State GOP legislators voted down a measure to redraw the state's congressional district boundaries on Thursday afternoon. This vote marks a pointed rejection of Donald Trump and wider national efforts to gerrymander voting districts to favor Republican candidates.

The Final Tally

The measure did not pass by a vote of 19 to 31. A significant bloc of twenty-one Republican senators joined forces with 10 Democrats to defeat the new redistricting plan.

Currently, Republicans represent 7 of Indiana's nine congressional districts. The proposed redistricting scheme was crafted to establish GOP-leaning electorates in all nine congressional seats. This was intended to be accomplished through multiple key maneuvers:

• Carving up the liberal stronghold of the state capital into 4 different congressional areas.
• Attaching slices of the city's voters to nearby heavily GOP districts.
• Splitting the northwest congressional district, presently represented by Frank Mrvan, into 2 new areas.

Key Holdout

State Senator Greg Goode (R), a key Republican holdout, opposed the redistricting bill. In a detailed floor speech, he declared that his vote represented the wishes of his district.

"I'm a Christian first and foremost, then an American, then a conservative thinker, then a Republican – in that priority," he proclaimed. "I'm convinced that my vote represents the view of my people."

National Context

This campaign in Indiana took place amid a nationwide drive by former President Trump to influence the redistricting of congressional maps to create more Republican House seats before next year's midterms. The GOP currently maintain a narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and are broadly projected to lose seats in the forthcoming vote.

Elsewhere, GOP lawmakers in the Lone Star State, the Tar Heel State, and Missouri have each passed districts to favor their party. Meanwhile, Democratic legislators have retaliated by redrawing districts in places such as California to potentially add several Democratic seats. The Democratic party in Virginia are also positioned to redraw their maps for Democratic advantage.

High-Stakes Lobbying

Donald Trump engaged in a intense effort to influence Hoosier GOP lawmakers to approve the map. Vice President JD Vance allegedly visited the state capitol multiple times to lobby state senators.

In a post on his Truth Social, the former president voiced his displeasure on Wednesday evening. "All other state has done redistricting, readily, openly, and without issue. There was no doubt in their minds that contributing to a WIN in the Midterms for the Republicans was a great move to do for our party, and for America itself," he posted. "Unfortunately, Indiana Senate “Leader” Senator Rod Bray seems to enjoy being the sole individual in the United States of America who is against Republicans gaining extra seats, in Indiana's case, 2 of them."

Hostile Climate

In the days to the vote, Indiana GOP senators reportedly received death threats and swatting incidents. Additionally, Vice President J.D. Vance and Donald Trump Jr. publicly criticized Senator Rod Bray ahead of the Thursday vote.

Heritage Action, the activist arm of the conservative Heritage Foundation, also issued a statement, stating on the day of the vote that the state would be stripped of congressional funds if it did not pass the redistricting plan. Their post suggested that key infrastructure projects and services would be jeopardized.