House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) remains confident Republicans will perform strongly in next year’s midterms, even after a setback in Indiana’s redistricting fight.
“I guess that’s a disappointing outcome in Indiana, but there’s about 14 states at some stage of the process now, either litigation or redistricting,” Johnson commented.
“So, we shall see. We shall see. But I’m very, very bullish about the midterms. I know that we are going to win because we have a great record to run on.
The setback came after the Indiana state Senate rejected a new House map designed to create additional Republican-leaning districts, a blow to President Trump who had actively lobbied state lawmakers to approve the new lines.
The state chamber voted 31-19 against the proposal, with 21 Republicans siding with 10 Democrats in opposition.
The map would have added two more right-leaning districts to Indiana, where the GOP currently holds seven of nine U.S. House seats.
Democratic incumbents Frank Mrvan and Andre Carson would have been eliminated under the proposal.
The Indiana vote follows the Supreme Court green-lighting Texas’ implementation of its new Republican-drawn congressional map, which adds five GOP-skewing seats.
Indiana was just the latest state-level vote to occur in Trump’s nationwide push to redraw districts before the 2026 midterms.
The Indiana House had passed the measure 57-41 last week, with a dozen GOP members opposing it.
Johnson said Republicans have stronger candidates to maintain momentum going into the election.
“We have better candidates, better message and we have a lot to show the people, so we’ll continue our momentum,” he said.
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Trump renewed warnings to GOP lawmakers who resisted redistricting ahead of the vote on.
“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,” he wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday.
“If Republicans will not do what is necessary to save our Country, they will eventually lose everything to the Democrats.”
The president singled out Indiana Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray (R) as “the only person in the United States who is against Republicans picking up extra seats, in Indiana’s case, two of them.”
Last month, Bray had indicated he lacked sufficient support to advance the map through the Senate.
“He is putting every ounce of his limited strength into asking his soon to be very vulnerable friends to vote with him,” Trump commented.
“By doing so, he is putting the Majority in the House of Representatives, Washington, D.C., at risk and, at the same time, putting anybody in Indiana who votes against this Redistricting, likewise, at risk.”
Trump later added, “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.”
Leading Republicans also weighed in to pressure holdouts before Thursday’s vote.
Johnson personally contacted Indiana lawmakers, while Vice President JD Vance criticized Bray on X.
“Rod Bray, the Senate leader in Indiana, has consistently told us he wouldn’t fight redistricting while simultaneously whipping his members against it,” he tweeted.
“That level of dishonesty cannot be rewarded, and the Indiana GOP needs to choose a side.”
If Indiana Republicans side with these Never Trumpers to do the dirty work of Democrats, I'll be spending a lot of time in Indiana next year campaigning against every single one of them.
PS: These RINO consultants sabotaging MAGA need to be rooted out of the GOP!!! https://t.co/Vl8k9LVttQ
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) December 11, 2025
Donald Trump Jr. added on X that he would back primary challenges against any GOP lawmakers who sided with Democrats by opposing redistricting.
“If Indiana Republicans side with these Never Trumpers to do the dirty work of Democrats, I’ll be spending a lot of time in Indiana next year campaigning against every single one of them,” he posted.
“PS: These RINO consultants sabotaging MAGA need to be rooted out of the GOP!!!”
Trump and his allies have been pushing Indiana Republicans for months to back the redistricting effort, part of a broader strategy to reshape congressional maps in Republican-led states ahead of the 2026 midterms and safeguard the narrow GOP majority in the House.
Indiana Democratic Party Chair Karen Tallian called the outcome a victory for procedural integrity after the measure was voted down.
“The Indiana General Assembly has rules. Redistricting happens every ten years. These rules are not obstacles,” she said in a statement.
“They are safety nets. Upholding the rules is not an act of weakness – it is an act of responsibility: maintaining the integrity of the process and preserving the legitimacy and credibility of the institution. Today, that’s what my former colleagues did by rejecting this partisan sideshow,” she said.
Trump commented on the Senate’s rejection during a press availability in the Oval Office on Thursday, highlighting the political risk to Bray.
“I heard he was against it. He’ll probably lose his next primary whenever that is. I hope he does because he’s done a tremendous disservice,” he remarked, adding he would “certainly support anybody that wants to go against him.”
Bray, who represents Indiana’s Senate District 37, is up for reelection in 2028.
Trump, reflecting on his experience in Indiana, stated, “It’s a great place. I love the people. They love me. We won in a landslide all three times. We got tremendous votes ‒ I got record votes,” before returning to criticism of Republicans who opposed the redistricting plan.
“There’s no reason for doing that. And the Democrats do it to us,” he condemned.
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