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In a dramatic action, Indiana GOP legislators rejected a plan to redraw the state's U.S. House map on Thursday. This decision marks a clear rebuke of Donald Trump and wider GOP-led attempts to alter voting maps to benefit GOP office-seekers.

The Vote

The proposal was defeated by a count of 19 to 31. A notable group of 21 Republican senators voted alongside ten Democrats to reject the proposed district maps.

Currently, GOP representatives represent seven of Indiana's nine congressional districts. The rejected plan was engineered to favor Republican-leaning districts in all nine House districts. This was intended to be achieved through several major changes:

• Dividing the liberal base of Indianapolis into 4 different congressional areas.
• Appending portions of the city's electorate to adjacent heavily Republican districts.
• Dividing the northwest congressional district, currently represented by Democrat Frank Mrvan, into 2 separate districts.

Defecting Senator

State Sen. Greg Goode (R), a key GOP holdout, voted against the redistricting bill. In a detailed address to the chamber, he asserted that his position was in line with the will of his district.

"I'm a Christian first, then an American citizen, then a conservative thinker, then a member of the GOP – in that priority," he stated. "I am convinced that my vote reflects the desire of my district."

Wider Gerrymandering Fight

This effort in Indiana occurred amid a national initiative by former President Trump to influence the redistricting of district lines to add more Republican House seats ahead of next year’s midterm elections. The GOP currently hold a very slim lead in the House and are widely projected to lose seats in the forthcoming vote.

In other states, GOP lawmakers in Texas, the Tar Heel State, and the Show-Me State have all enacted maps to favor their side. At the same time, Democratic legislators have responded by redrawing maps in states like the Golden State to potentially gain multiple seats. Democrats in the Commonwealth of Virginia are also positioned to overhaul their maps for party gain.

High-Stakes Lobbying

Donald Trump engaged in a intense push to lobby Indiana Republicans to approve the map. Vice-president J.D. Vance reportedly visited the Indiana Statehouse multiple times to meet with state senators.

In a statement on his social media platform, the former president expressed his anger on Wednesday evening. "Every other State has done redistricting, willingly, openly, and without issue. There was no doubt in their mind that helping to secure a WIN in the midterms for the Republican Party was a positive thing to do for our party, and for America itself," he posted. "Unfortunately, Indiana Senate Leader Senator Rod Bray enjoys being the only person in the United States who is opposed to the GOP gaining extra seats, in Indiana’s instance, two of them."

Threats and Attacks

In the lead-up to the critical vote, Indiana state Republicans reportedly received death threats and swatting incidents. Additionally, VP J.D. Vance and Donald Trump Jr. openly attacked Senator Rod Bray (R) ahead of the Thursday roll call.

The advocacy group Heritage Action, the advocacy branch of the right-leaning Heritage Foundation, also weighed in, warning on the day of the vote that the state of Indiana would lose federal funding if it did not pass the redistricting plan. Their post suggested that critical state projects and operations would be halted.