2026 midterms: Indiana Senate votes down Trump’s redistricting plan

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Welcome to The Logoff: President Donald Trump’s Indiana redistricting marketing campaign has failed — once more.

What occurred? On Thursday, the Indiana state Senate voted down a Trump-backed invoice to redraw Indiana’s congressional maps to be extra favorable to Republicans forward of the 2026 midterms. The invoice, which might have created a 9-0 Republican benefit in Indiana, was rejected resoundingly, with 31 votes to 19.

The vote virtually by no means occurred, after Indiana Republicans initially rejected Trump’s call to convene a particular session. Finally, Trump was capable of browbeat Republicans into holding the vote — solely to be handed an much more putting defeat.

What’s the context? Indiana is the newest focus of a nationwide, bipartisan redistricting effort that kicked off when Trump pressured Texas lawmakers to redraw their state maps and internet Republicans 5 extra congressional seats. Since then, issues have largely not been going his way. A Democratic redistricting effort in California ought to neutralize GOP beneficial properties in Texas, and with Indiana staying out of the battle, Democrats might in the end break even — and even achieve seats.

Why does this matter? Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and administration allies threw lots of weight behind this redistricting push, together with issuing more and more drastic threats. On Thursday, for instance, the conservative group Heritage Motion floated stripping Indiana of federal funding if lawmakers voted in opposition to Trump. Regardless of all of that, Trump nonetheless did not win — and even come shut — the 25 Republican votes he wanted regardless of the GOP holding a 40-vote supermajority within the 50-seat state Senate.

Indiana Republicans have additionally been deluged with loss of life threats over the invoice. It’s a giant deal that they failed to supply the supposed outcome.

What’s the massive image? The dialog about whether or not Trump’s beforehand ironclad management over the Republican Get together is slipping has been getting louder in latest weeks. In November, Home members bucked the White Home to vote to launch the Epstein recordsdata. Now, Indiana has handed Trump one other defeat, and a blow, to Republicans’ already-slim possibilities of retaining the Home subsequent yr.

And with that, it’s time to log out…

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