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In a surprising development, Hoosier State Republicans rejected a plan to redraw the state's congressional map on Thursday afternoon. This decision marks a pointed rebuke of Donald Trump and broader national campaigns to gerrymander voting maps to advantage GOP office-seekers.

The Roll Call

The measure failed by a tally of 19 to 31. A significant group of 21 Republican lawmakers sided with 10 Democrats to block the new district maps.

Currently, Republicans occupy 7 of Indiana's 9 congressional seats. The rejected plan was crafted to create GOP-leaning electorates in every single one of the congressional seats. This would have been achieved through several major maneuvers:

• Dividing the liberal base of Indianapolis into 4 different districts.
• Attaching slices of the city's electorate to nearby heavily Republican districts.
• Breaking up the northwest congressional district, currently represented by Frank Mrvan, into two separate areas.

Defecting Senator

State Sen. Greg Goode, a pivotal Republican defector, voted against the redistricting bill. In a extended floor speech, he asserted that his vote reflected the wishes of his district.

"I'm a Christian first and foremost, then an American, then a conservative, then a Republican – in that sequence," he said. "I'm certain that my decision represents the will of my people."

National Context

This push in the Hoosier State took place amid a nationwide drive by former President Trump to shape the redrawing of district lines to add more GOP House seats ahead of next year's midterms. Republicans currently hold a very slim lead in the House and are broadly expected to shed ground in the forthcoming vote.

In other states, GOP lawmakers in the Lone Star State, North Carolina, and the Show-Me State have all redrawn maps to benefit their side. At the same time, Democratic legislators have retaliated by redrawing districts in places such as California to potentially add several Democratic seats. The Democratic party in the Commonwealth of Virginia are also poised to overhaul maps for Democratic advantage.

High-Stakes Lobbying

Donald Trump engaged in a bare-knuckled effort to influence Indiana GOP lawmakers to approve the map. Vice-president J.D. Vance allegedly visited the state capitol on several occasions to lobby state senators.

In a post on his Truth Social, the former president expressed his anger on Wednesday evening. "Every other State has done Redistricting, happily, transparently, and easily. There was no doubt in their mind that contributing to a WIN in the Midterms for the Republican Party was a great thing to do for our party, and for America itself," he posted. "Unfortunately, Indiana Senate “Leader” Rod Bray seems to enjoy being the only person in the United States of America who is against the GOP gaining additional seats, in Indiana’s instance, 2 of them."

Hostile Climate

In the days to the critical vote, some Indiana GOP senators reportedly received death threats and swatting attempts. Furthermore, VP J.D. Vance and Donald Trump Jr. openly attacked Senate Leader Rod Bray (R) before the Thursday vote.

The advocacy group Heritage Action, the advocacy branch of the right-leaning Heritage Foundation, also issued a statement, claiming on the day of the vote that the state of Indiana would be stripped of congressional funds if it did not pass the redistricting plan. Their message suggested that critical infrastructure projects and services would be impacted.