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In a surprising development, Indiana GOP legislators rejected a plan to redraw the state's U.S. House map on Thursday afternoon. This decision represents a direct rejection of Donald Trump and broader GOP-led efforts to gerrymander voting maps to advantage Republican candidates.

The Roll Call

The measure did not pass by a count of 19 to 31. A significant bloc of 21 Republican senators joined forces with 10 Democratic senators to reject the proposed redistricting plan.

Currently, Republicans occupy seven of Indiana's nine congressional seats. The rejected redistricting scheme was designed to create GOP-leaning electorates in all nine House districts. This aimed to be done through multiple major maneuvers:

• Carving up the Democratic base of Indianapolis into 4 separate districts.
• Adding segments of the city's electorate to nearby heavily Republican districts.
• Splitting the north-western congressional district, presently held by Democrat Frank Mrvan, into two new districts.

Key Holdout

State Sen. Greg Goode (R), a key Republican holdout, voted against the map. In a extended floor speech, he declared that his position was in line with the desires of his district.

"I'm a Christian man first and foremost, then an American, then a conservative thinker, then a member of the GOP – in that priority," he said. "I'm convinced that my vote represents the desire of my district."

Broader Battle

This push in the Hoosier State took place amid a country-wide initiative by Donald Trump to influence the redistricting of district lines to create more Republican seats ahead of next year’s midterm elections. The GOP currently hold a very slim lead in the House and are broadly anticipated to lose ground in the upcoming vote.

Elsewhere, GOP lawmakers in Texas, the Tar Heel State, and the Show-Me State have each passed districts to favor their party. Meanwhile, Democrats have retaliated by redrawing districts in places such as the Golden State to potentially gain several seats. The Democratic party in Virginia are also positioned to redraw maps for party gain.

Trump's Campaign

The former president engaged in a bare-knuckled campaign to pressure Hoosier GOP lawmakers to pass the map. Vice-president JD Vance reportedly traveled to the state capitol on several occasions to lobby state senators.

In a post on his social media platform, the former president voiced his displeasure on Wednesday evening. "All other State has done Redistricting, happily, openly, and easily. There was never a question in their minds that helping to secure a victory in the midterms for the Republicans was a great move to do for our party, and for America itself," he wrote. "Sadly, Indiana Senate Leader Rod Bray enjoys being the sole individual in the United States of America who is opposed to Republicans gaining additional seats, in Indiana’s instance, two of them."

Pressure Tactics

In the days to the vote, Indiana state Republicans allegedly were subjected to death threats and swatting incidents. Additionally, Vice President JD Vance and Donald Trump Jr. publicly targeted Senate Leader Rod Bray (R) before the Thursday vote.

Heritage Action, the advocacy branch of the conservative Heritage Foundation, also weighed in, stating on the day of the vote that the state would lose congressional funds if it failed to pass the map. Their message suggested that key infrastructure projects and services would be halted.