Trump loses big when Indiana abandons redistricting plan
Republicans in the Indiana state legislature canceled a special session called at the behest of President Donald Trump to consider drawing new maps to eliminate two House seats held by the Democratic Party on Friday.
The canceled session in Indiana marks a major loss for Trump and Republicans as they push GOP-governed states to participate in redistricting by mid-decade in an attempt to insulate their slim House majority from Trump’s growing unpopularity ahead of the 2026 election.
“Over the past several months, Senate Republicans have very seriously and thoughtfully considered the concept of redrawing our state’s congressional maps,” Indiana State Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray said in a statement. “Today I announce that there are not enough votes to advance that idea and that the Senate will not reconvene in December.”
Republicans thought they could flip the only two Democratic seats in the state’s nine-member House delegation into the GOP column through redistricting. The White House waged an all-out pressure campaign on state leaders, and Vice President JD Vance visited the state twice. And it seems like Trump world is crazy.
“BREAKING: Senator Rodric Bray announces his retirement,” Chris LaCivita, Trump’s 2024 campaign co-chairman, posted on X after the announcement.
The GOP’s turnaround in Indiana follows a brutal week for the party’s redistricting campaign. California voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative that allows the Democratic-dominated legislature to sideline the state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and draw partisan maps by eliminating up to five GOP-held seats. That would offset the potential five-seat gain that Texas Republicans created when they launched this redistricting war in August.
Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Democrat Abigail Spanberger’s victory for governor and her party’s victory in state legislative elections in Virginia came after the party announced it would also redraw maps to favor Democrats in response to Trump’s redistricting push.
And in Utah, a judge required the state to adopt a new House map that creates a safe Democratic seat centered in Salt Lake City following litigation in state court.
At the same time, state Republican leaders rejected Trump’s redistricting proposals in Kansas and New Hampshire.
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With Indiana now off the map, Republicans have redrawn House maps in four states (Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio) for a potential gain of seven seats. Democrats would likely surpass Republicans’ haul by combining gains from new maps in California, Utah and, potentially, Virginia.
There are still other Republican redistricting efforts that could gain traction in Florida and Nebraska, but it appears that California’s successful response to Texas redistricting, along with Democratic victories in the 2025 elections, has dampened the appetite among state-level Republicans to redraw their maps.