Topline
The Indiana Senate voted Thursday to reject a Trump-backed congressional redistricting map that would have advantaged Republicans—a setback for the president, who has pressured states to redraw their lines.
WASHINGTON, US – AUGUST 2: A view of the US Senate office as the US Capitol Police (USCP) clear office buildings after a report of an active shooter in Washington, US on August 2, 2023. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Key Facts
The new map would have made Indiana’ two districts held by Democrats more favorable to Republicans, likely meaning Republicans would have won all nine of the state’s congressional districts in the midterms.
The Senate rejected the map in a 31-19 vote, with a majority of the Republican state senators joining the chamber’s 10 Democrats in rejecting the map.
President Donald Trump has heaped pressure on Republican leaders to redraw their state congressional lines, in an effort to retain the party’s majority in the House next year.
The gerrymandering efforts, ongoing in the states of California, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Utah, have sparked public debate, while some are being challenged in courts.
The Supreme Court last week ruled to allow Texas Republicans to use the newly-drawn state congressional map adding 5 GOP seats, despite lower-court rulings that the map likely discriminates based on race.
News Peg
President Trump’s pressure campaign for Republicans to redraw congressional lines is an attempt to buck a trend where the sitting president’s party loses ground in Congress after midterm elections. While redistricting usually happens once every decade after a census, in some states, there are no laws preventing a redraw in the middle of the cycle. Trump said earlier this year he wanted to perform a new census and exclude people without legal residency from it — likely resulting in redrawn congressional districts — but the Supreme Court struck down the effort on procedural grounds.
