After Republican lawmakers in Indiana sided with Democrats to defeat a proposed congressional redistricting plan on Thursday, President Donald Trump signaled he would support a primary challenge against a leading GOP state senator.
The state Senate’s vote of 31-19 defeated the congressional redistricting plan that Trump has been urging Republicans to back in an effort to preserve their majority in the U.S. House for the 2026 midterm elections.
A total of 21 Republicans teamed up with 10 Democrats to vote against the proposed district lines that might have allowed Republicans to gain two additional seats.
In his criticism, Trump singled out Indiana Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray.
“I heard he was against it,” Trump said. “He’ll probably lose his next primary, whenever that is. I hope he does, because he’s done a tremendous disservice.”
Trump added later that he would “certainly support anybody who wants to go against him.”
Following the failed vote, Bray said in a statement per PBS that while Republicans in the state Senate want to see a GOP majority in Congress in the 2026 midterm elections, “the issue before us today was how to get there, and many of my caucus members don’t think redrawing our Congressional map mid-cycle is a guaranteed way for Indiana – or our country – to achieve that outcome.”
In a post on X, Vice President JD Vance also ripped Bray and indicated that the Indiana Senate leader had privately indicated to him and the president that he would not work against passage of the measure.
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“Rod Bray, the Senate leader in Indiana, has consistently told us he wouldn’t fight redistricting while simultaneously whipping his members against it. That level of dishonesty cannot be rewarded, and the Indiana GOP needs to choose a side,” Vance wrote.
The failure of the GOP supermajority in the state Senate to pass the measure also drew the ire of GOP Gov. Mike Braun, who was fully supportive of it.
Following the plan’s defeat, Braun issued a sharply worded statement warning of potential “political consequences” for Republican lawmakers who joined Democrats in rejecting a new congressional map that would have strengthened the GOP’s position ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
“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,” Braun posted on X. “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.”
Braun’s warning about political repercussions for Republicans mirrors similar threats from national MAGA figures, including Trump, who have vowed to spend time and resources defeating Republicans in the state, the Indianapolis Star reported.
“If they stupidly say no, vote them out of Office,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, in a recent post about Indiana lawmakers. “They are not worthy – And I will be there to help!”
Braun had previously expressed confidence that the redistricting bill would ultimately pass the Senate, and signaled recently that he believed lawmakers were coming around.
Some conservative commentators on social media said the vote tally showed Braun is lacking “juice.”
“Mike Braun has ZERO juice in Indiana,” WIBC host Ethan Hatcher posted on X. “He is a disappointment to everyone.”
The vote was also criticized by Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, who called state senators “spineless” in a social media post.
“If Hoosiers were hoping to see an ounce of courage from the Senate today, they did not get it,” Beckwith said in a post.
Beckwith also reposted an X user who had written on the platform: “Is there anything more pathetic and useless than the Republican Party?”
