President Donald Trump is escalating his pressure campaign against Indiana Senate Republicans who broke with him on redistricting, taunting “long seated RINOs” and backing primary challengers ahead of Tuesday evening’s elections.
“Good luck to those Great Indiana Senate Candidates who are running against people who couldn’t care less about our Country, or about keeping the Majority in Congress,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “There are eight Great Patriots running against long seated RINOS — Let’s see how those RINOS do tonight,” he added, referencing “Republicans in name only.”
Ten state Senate seats are on the ballot, including eight held by Republicans who voted against a Trump-backed effort to redraw the state’s congressional map. Trump has endorsed challengers in seven of those races. Only state Sen. Rick Niemeyer avoided drawing an opponent with Trump’s backing.
The push follows weeks of warnings from Trump, who signaled political consequences for Republicans opposing the redistricting plan. “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 in an earlier post.
In December, the Indiana legislature voted 31-19 to strike down the proposed redistricting bill, with 21 Senate Republicans joining Democrats. The bill would likely have added two Republican U.S. House seats. Indiana currently has nine congressional districts, seven of which are represented by Republicans.
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The fight in Indiana comes amid a broader national push by both parties to redraw congressional maps ahead of November. Trump successfully pressured Texas lawmakers to redraw their map, while states including California, Virginia, and Florida have also moved forward with new district lines, each favoring the ruling party of the state.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which struck down race-based redistricting in that state, is expected to trigger further map changes across the South, including Tennessee and Alabama.