A top Republican in the Indiana state Senate said on Friday that he would not seek re-election to his leadership position in the hopes he could spare his colleagues from Donald Trump’s wrath after the president threatened to support primary challenges for any lawmakers who supported his bid.
Rodric Bray, the state Senate president pro tempore, tangled with Trump last fall after Trump demanded that the state redraw its congressional maps to give Republicans a larger advantage. Bray led his colleagues in opposing the measure, which ultimately failed, and Trump quickly vowed to exact his revenge on the lawmakers who defied him.
Bray, who didn’t use Trump’s name in his announcement but referred directly to the president’s “promises,” also said that he would remain in the chamber and that he stands by his record.
“As the top caucus leader, the pro tem’s job is also to represent and look out for his caucus members,” Bray’s office said in a press release. “He will not put members in jeopardy from their own party simply because he is asking members to support his re-election as pro-tem.”
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Trump was thrilled to hear of Bray’s announcement, immediately celebrating it on Truth Social and saying that Bray should be “ashamed of himself” for costing the Republicans U.S. House seats.
“I want to thank the Great State of Indiana for your support, not only in my Presidential Election, which we won with the Highest Vote in the History of the State, but also for your support in getting rid of wayward Senators, led down the Path of Destruction by a FOOL named Rodric Bray,” Trump wrote. “Better yet would be if he would resign from Office, completely, but he will be met by us at the Indiana Polls.”
For much of his second term, Trump has been pushing states to redistrict in an effort to prevent Republicans losses in the 2026 midterms. In Indiana, a proposal to redraw the state’s congressional maps to give the party a 9-0 advantage in the U.S. House quickly garnered the president’s support — but Bray repeatedly insisted that it did not have enough support among his colleagues to pass the chamber. The president pro tem serves as the chamber’s elected leader, and is responsible for presiding over the state Senate, enforcing chamber rules and helping guide the chamber policy agenda. As such, he became the focus of Trump’s ire after the state’s redistricting measure failed, with 21 Republicans joining 10 Democrats to defeat it.
While Bray is not up for reelection this year, several of his colleagues are. Six incumbent state senators lost to Trump-endorsed challengers, a bloodbath that Bray hopes to slow by stepping down from his leadership role.
On June 4, state Senate Majority Floor Leader Chris Garten resigned from his leadership position as well, amid speculation that he may try to challenge Bray for his position. Garten supported redistricting.
Bray’s announcement came as a shock to some, such as state Sen. Ron Alting, who has served in the Indiana state senate since 1998.
“What an honorable person to put the will of the caucus ahead of himself,” Alting told IndyStar. “That’s what you call a leader.”
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