President Donald Trump has taken aim at an Indiana Republican, State Senator Rodric Bray, over redistricting in the state.
Writing on Truth Social this weekend, Trump wrote: “I was with David McIntosh of the Club for Growth, and we agreed that we will both work tirelessly together to take out Indiana Senate Majority Leader Rod Bray, a total RINO [Republican In Name Only], who betrayed the Republican Party, the President of the United States, and everyone else who wants to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! We’re after you Bray, like no one has ever come after you before!”
McIntosh, who is the former Republican representative for Indiana, backed the president. “President Trump and I are aligned. Rod Bray is going down,” he wrote on X.
Newsweek has contacted a representative for Bray for comment via email outside of regular working hours.
Why It Matters
Trump has been encouraging Republican-controlled states to redraw their U.S. House district maps mid-decade—not just after the usual census cycle—to create more districts that favor GOP candidates in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections. This is part of an effort to help the party keep or expand its narrow majority in the House of Representatives.
The pressure on Republicans to redraw maps has triggered gerrymandering battles nationwide, with Democrats also moving to change electoral maps. His comments come after Virginia House Democrats on Wednesday approved a redistricting constitutional amendment for a second time, clearing the way for a state Senate vote as the party moves to redraw the Old Dominion’s House map ahead of the midterms, which will take place in November.
What To Know
The Indiana State Senate voted down a proposal to redraw the state’s congressional maps in December, rejecting the measure after it advanced to a third reading. The defeat halted the bill before it could reach the desk of Governor Mike Braun, who had backed the redistricting effort and in October convened a special legislative session to allow lawmakers to debate the issue.
Support for redrawing Indiana’s congressional boundaries also came from Vice President JD Vance—who traveled to Indianapolis in October to meet with state lawmakers to discuss redistricting—and House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Vance also took aim at Bray this weekend, writing on X: “I’d like to thank @bray_rodric for not even trying to fight back against this extraordinary Democrat abuse of power. Now the votes of Indiana Republicans will matter far less than the votes of Virginia Democrats. We told you it would happen, and you did nothing.”
Bray emerged as a central figure in the debate in November, when he said the chamber lacked the votes to pass redistricting legislation and should not convene for a special session called by Braun.
The state Senate ultimately met in December to take up the issue, and 21 Republicans joined all 10 Democrats to thwart the redistricting plan by a vote of 31-19.
This isn’t the first time Trump has taken aim at Bray. In November, the president attacked his fellow Republican on social media, calling him “weak and pathetic.”
“Anybody that votes against Redistricting, and the SUCCESS of the Republican Party in D.C., will be, I am sure, met with a MAGA Primary in the Spring,” Trump wrote. “Rod Bray and his friends won’t be in Politics for long, and I will do everything within my power to make sure that they will not hurt the Republican Party, and our Country, again.”
What Happens Next
It is unclear whether Indiana lawmakers will take up redistricting again in a future legislative session.
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