Indiana Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray explained more about why he opposed redistricting despite pressure from the Trump administration.
Indiana senators voted against redrawing congressional district maps. The vote failed 19 to 31 last month. Those maps would have given Republicans full control of the nine state’s districts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Republicans currently control seven congressional districts. At an Owen County Chamber of Commerce event last Saturday, Bray said he didn’t believe Indiana could simply flip the remaining two seats.
Bray pushed against claims that he turned other senators against redistricting, saying that’s not how leads his caucus.
“It's the honor of my life to be the President Pro Tem in the Senate,” Bray said. “I lead by consensus. We work together to figure out what the right thing to do is. The people that decided they were for it, I gave them no pressure or punishment whatsoever. The people that weren't for it, it was their decision completely.”
Bray said it was the right thing to do for Indiana.
“I was contacted by many, many, many constituents,” Bray said. “I would say 10 were against it to every one that was for it. So, that was a big part of my decision as well.”
After redistricting efforts failed, President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance called out Bray on social media and vowed to remove him from office. Bray’s term ends in 2028.
“We’re after you Bray, like no one has ever come after you before!" Trump said on Truth Social.
Bray said even today, there’s not a candidate that could win those two remaining seats.
“They haven't walked in a parade. They haven't gone to a fair. They haven’t had a tenderloin with constituents in any part of the district at this point, haven't raised $1 of money,” Bray said. “So, I think it's a fiction to think that all of a sudden we could turn that into 9-0.”
George Hale contributed reporting to this story.
