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In a surprising move, Indiana GOP legislators rejected a proposal to redraw the state's U.S. House map on Thursday. This decision marks a pointed rejection of former President Trump and wider national attempts to gerrymander voting maps to advantage Republican office-seekers.

The Vote

The bill was defeated by a vote of 19 to 31. A notable bloc of twenty-one Republican lawmakers joined forces with 10 Democratic senators to defeat the proposed redistricting plan.

Currently, Republicans occupy 7 of Indiana's nine congressional seats. The defeated redistricting scheme was designed to create GOP-leaning districts in every single one of the congressional seats. This was intended to be achieved through several key changes:

• Carving up the liberal stronghold of Indianapolis into four different districts.
• Appending slices of Indianapolis electorate to adjacent solidly GOP districts.
• Splitting the northwest congressional district, currently held by Frank Mrvan, into 2 separate districts.

Key Holdout

State Senator Greg Goode, a crucial Republican holdout, voted against the map. In a detailed address to the chamber, he declared that his decision was in line with the will of his voters.

"I am a Christian first, then an American citizen, then a conservative, then a member of the GOP – in that order," he said. "I am confident that my vote aligns with the will of my district."

Wider Gerrymandering Fight

This campaign in the Hoosier State took place during a national initiative by former President Trump to shape the redistricting of district lines to secure more GOP House seats ahead of next year's midterms. Republicans presently maintain a razor-thin majority in the House and are broadly projected to shed ground in the upcoming vote.

Elsewhere, GOP lawmakers in the Lone Star State, the Tar Heel State, and the Show-Me State have each passed maps to benefit their party. At the same time, Democrats have responded by adjusting maps in places such as the Golden State to possibly add multiple seats. The Democratic party in the Commonwealth of Virginia are also poised to overhaul maps for Democratic gain.

High-Stakes Lobbying

The former president undertook a aggressive push to influence Hoosier GOP lawmakers to approve the redistricting plan. Vice President J.D. Vance reportedly traveled to the Indiana Statehouse multiple times to meet with state senators.

In a post on his Truth Social, Trump voiced his frustration on Wednesday evening. "All other State has done Redistricting, willingly, openly, and without issue. There was no doubt in their minds that helping to secure a victory in the Midterms for the Republicans was a good move to do for our Party, and for America itself," he wrote. "Unfortunately, Indiana's Senate Leader Senator Rod Bray seems to enjoy being the only person in the United States of America who is against the GOP picking up extra seats, in Indiana's case, two of them."

Pressure Tactics

In the days to the critical vote, Indiana state Republicans allegedly received threats of violence and swatting attempts. Furthermore, VP J.D. Vance and Donald Trump Jr. openly targeted Senator Rod Bray (R) ahead of the Thursday vote.

The advocacy group Heritage Action, the activist branch of the conservative think tank, also issued a statement, stating on Thursday that the state of Indiana would forfeit federal funding if it failed to pass the map. Their message implied that key infrastructure projects and services would be halted.