Republicans in the Indiana state House on Monday introduced a new congressional district map that seeks to oust the two Democrats in the state’s nine-member delegation, heeding President Donald Trump’s demand that state Republicans help him rig the 2026 midterm elections.
The map carves up to turn what is currently a 7-2 map in favor of Republicans to a 9-0 map in favor of the GOP. This would be in a state where Democrat Kamala Harris won roughly 40% of the vote in last year’s presidential election.
While the map is likely to pass the GOP-controlled state House, it’s unclear whether it has the votes to pass the Republican-controlled state Senate, where GOP lawmakers have slammed Trump’s effort and subsequent pressure campaign that’s led multiple lawmakers to receive death threats and attacks.
For example, Republican state Sen. Michael Bohacek on Friday said he will vote against any gerrymandering effort, pinning his opposition to a comment Trump made in which he called Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz “seriously retarded.”
President Donald Trump, shown in November.
“This is not the first time our president has used these insulting and derogatory references and his choices of words have consequences,” Bohacek, whose daughter has Down syndrome, wrote in a Facebook post. “I will be voting NO on redistricting, perhaps he [Trump] can use the next 10 months to convince voters that his policies and behavior deserve a congressional majority.”
Meanwhile, Republican state Sen. Jean Leising said on Sunday she was the target of a bomb threat due to her opposition to the gerrymander, but she said it will not change her stance on the effort.
“Unfortunately, my house was the target of a pipe bomb threat on Saturday evening,” she wrote in a post on X. “This is a result of the D.C. political pundits for redistricting. Thanks to the Oldenburg Town Marshall, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the ISP, all is okay!”
Another GOP state senator refused a summons to the White House, saying he believed that being pressured to vote for the gerrymander was a violation of federal law.
“There is no way that he should have time to have a conversation with me about Indiana mapmaking when that’s not his business, for starters,” GOP state Sen. Greg Walker said. “But secondly, doesn’t he have anything better to do? I can make a big list of things that are more important for him to focus on.”
However, Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, who is also opposed to the gerrymander, said the Senate will meet to consider the state House’s map.
Yet, given that multiple Senate Republicans have publicly come out against it, it’s not clear if the map will pass.
Ultimately, Trump is so scared of Republicans losing their House majority that he’s strong-arming state lawmakers into rigging their congressional maps. It’s just the latest in a long list of corrupt actions he has taken since reentering the White House.
