Indiana Republicans Face Primary Reckoning After Vetoing Trump’s Redistricting Plan

By Michael Katz | Friday, December 12, 2025

The Indiana state Senate voted Thursday to reject a congressional redistricting bill championed by President Donald Trump, putting 21 Republican senators at risk of primary challenges in 2026.

Indiana’s GOP-controlled state Senate, holding a 40-10 majority, defeated the proposal with a vote of 31-19. The map, pushed for months by Trump and his allies, aimed to redraw the state’s congressional districts and potentially add two seats to the party’s narrow House majority.

Trump and White House officials held multiple calls with Senate Republicans, while Vice President JD Vance made two trips to Indiana to lobby for the bill.

Speaking from the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump criticized the rejection and singled out Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, who voted against the measure. Bray had previously stated that insufficient GOP support made the mid-decade redistricting effort unlikely to pass.

“You had one gentleman,” Trump said, “the head of the Senate, I guess, Bray… I heard he was against it.”

He added, “He’ll probably lose his next primary, whenever that is [in 2028]. I hope he does because he’s done a tremendous disservice. I’ll certainly support anybody that wants to go against him.”

Trump also noted his strong electoral history in Indiana—winning each of his three presidential campaigns by landslide margins—but argued he was not sufficiently engaged with the redistricting effort.

“It would have been nice,” he said, “I think we would have picked up two seats if we did that.”

Republican Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith made a statement Thursday stating, “When leaders hesitate at the exact moment that calls for clarity, voters take note. Primary season has arrived, and they will remember who walked away from the fight.” In a separate video post, Beckwith said, “We’re going to find some really good America first candidates to run in this next primary season.”

Governor Mike Braun signaled potential political consequences, stating that senators who “partnered with Democrats to reject this opportunity” had failed Hoosiers and would face repercussions. “I will be working with the president to challenge these people who do not represent the best interests of Hoosiers,” he said.

Turning Point Action, a conservative advocacy group founded by late Charlie Kirk, reportedly plans to spend $10 million or more on Republican primaries in 2026 and 2028 targeting lawmakers who opposed Trump. Heritage Action, the Heritage Foundation’s advocacy arm, claimed Trump threatened to cut state infrastructure funding if the Senate rejected the new map.

Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston, who met with Trump, Vance, and other national GOP figures about redistricting in recent months, denied any threat of federal funding impacts. “Never once was a threat made to me that federal funding would be impacted based on the outcome of redistricting,” Huston told the Indiana Capital Chronicle. “The White House was very professional in this process and only advocated for the importance of this issue.”