Irate Trump Berates Indiana Republicans for Rejecting His Demand To Redraw State’s Congressional Map in GOP Favor

President Trump is lashing out at Indiana state senators for refusing to redraw their state’s congressional maps, saying that anyone who does not go along with his plan should be primaried. The president’s threats come as it increasingly appears that the whole redistricting saga, started by Texas Republicans and encouraged by Mr. Trump, may end up being a wash. The whole affair started over the summer, when the Texas GOP redrew the state’s congressional districts in an attempt to net five additional seats for their party in Congress. That led California Democrats to do the same, a tit-for-tat competition that has now kicked off redistricting battles in at least half-a-dozen other states. Mr. Trump has eyed Indiana as a place where he could pick up two more seats for his party. The state currently has just two Democratic representatives — one in a deep-blue, Indianapolis-based seat, and the other in a swing district in the northwestern part of the state. The president pro tempore of the Indiana state senate, Rodric Bray, has said that he will not bring his chamber into session for a redistricting bill because there are not enough Republican votes to pass the measure. On Sunday, Mr. Trump went after Mr. Bray and other Republicans personally for refusing to accede to his demands. The president also attacked another state senator, Greg Goode, whose day job is as the state director of U.S. Senator Todd Young’s office. “Very disappointed in Indiana State Senate Republicans, led by RINO Senators Rod Bray and Greg Goode, for not wanting to redistrict their State, allowing the United States Congress to perhaps gain two more Republican seats,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday. “Because of these two politically correct type ‘gentlemen,’ and a few others, they could be depriving Republicans of a Majority in the House, A VERY BIG DEAL!”Mr. Trump said that Indiana must move forward with its redistricting plan in order to counteract California’s new congressional maps, which are expected to net the Democratic Party five seats in the House of Representatives. “It’s weak ‘Republicans’ that cause our Country such problems — It’s why we have crazy Policies and Ideas that are so bad for America,” Mr. Trump wrote. Indiana’s governor, Mike Braun, a staunch advocate for redrawing his state’s congressional maps, said in a statement on Friday that the state senate should at least vote on a redistricting bill in order to see where each senator stands. Mr. Braun’s advocacy did not save him from Mr. Trump’s ire, however.“Governor Mike Braun, perhaps, is not working the way he should to get the necessary Votes. Considering that Mike wouldn’t be Governor without me (Not even close!), is disappointing!” Mr. Trump said. “Any Republican that votes against this important redistricting, potentially having an impact on America itself, should be PRIMARIED,” Mr. Trump threatened in his lengthy post. “Senators Bray, Goode, and the others to be released to the public later this afternoon, should DO THEIR JOB, AND DO IT NOW! If not, let’s get them out of office, ASAP.”The Indiana state senate has 50 members in total, with lawmakers serving four-year terms. Every two years, only 25 of the senators face re-election, with the other half of the body facing voters the next cycle. Mr. Bray is not up for re-election until 2028. Mr. Trump’s success in pressuring Missouri and North Carolina to each eliminate one Democratic seat has put newfound pressure on Democrats in other states to redraw their own maps. Virginia Democrats are expected to vote on a bill earlier next year which could eliminate as many as four GOP congressional districts. Maryland Governor Wes Moore is pressuring his legislature to eliminate the state’s one GOP seat. Governor JB Pritzker of Illinois says he may push his legislature to vote to eliminate one or two Republican seats in his state, depending on what Indiana does. One blessing that surprised some in Democratic circles is a decision by a state court judge in Utah, who earlier this year ruled that the state’s Republican legislature illegally ignored the recommendations of the Utah independent redistricting commission in order to gerrymander the state in favor of the GOP. As part of that finding, the judge ordered both the legislature and the commission to submit maps to her for approval to be used in the next midterm election. The judge ended up choosing a map that created a deep-blue district centered around Salt Lake County. Had that district existed last year, Vice President Kamala Harris would have won it by more than 20 points, meaning that Democrats are expected to easily pick up one seat in Utah next year. The big risk for Republicans will come in Texas, however, where the whole saga kicked off. The Texas GOP drew the new maps near Austin, Houston, Dallas, in south Texas, and in the Rio Grande Valley to pick up five seats, but their calculations were based on Mr. Trump 2024 victory in the state, where Hispanics shifted heavily to the right. After elections in New Jersey and Virginia earlier this month, it is now seen as a possibility that the Texas GOP overplayed its hand. In some of the most Hispanic precincts in both New Jersey and Virginia — where both states had gubernatorial elections in early November — Latino voters swung drastically away from the GOP and back toward the Democratic Party. If such a phenomenon were to occur in Texas next year, Republicans may only pick up three or four seats, rather than the five they had been expecting.

Irate Trump Berates Indiana Republicans for Rejecting His Demand To Redraw State’s Congressional Map in GOP Favor

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