President Donald Trump said he looks forward to supporting a primary challenge against Indiana state Senate Republicans’ leader, Rodric Bray, after the state Legislature failed to pass new congressional maps Thursday.
“There’s no reason for doing that,” Trump said from the Oval Office on Thursday evening. “I wasn’t very much involved, but there’s a man named Bray, who I guess is head of the Senate … I’m sure whenever his primary is — I’m sure he’ll go down.
“I’ll certainly support anybody that wants to go against him,” Trump added.
The 19-31 vote came after weeks of intervention from the president, who urged Republicans in the state to pass a gerrymandered map that would likely result in an all-Republican Indiana congressional delegation.
Bray, the Senate president whose district lies just south of Indianapolis, is no stranger to the president’s social media attacks. In November, after he released a statement saying the party lacked the votes needed to redistrict, Trump posted to Truth Social calling Bray and state Sen. Greg Goode “RINO” — shorthand for “Republican in name only.”
“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!” Trump posted on Nov. 16.
In the last month, Trump has threatened political consequences for Indiana lawmakers who vote against the new maps, House Speaker Mike Johnson has made calls to hesitant state senators and Indiana Gov. Mike Braun has also threatened to support primary challenges against recalcitrant Republicans.
“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,” Trump posted ahead of the vote.
Republican state Sen. Greg Walker, in an interview with The Atlantic published Thursday, described a climate of intimidation in response to his opposition to the new maps.
“I fear for this institution,” Walker said. “I fear for the state of Indiana. And I fear for all states if we allow threats and intimidation to become the norm.”
Braun, in a post to X on Thursday evening, said he was “very disappointed” with the group of senators who voted against the bill.
“Ultimately, decisions like this carry political consequences,” he wrote. “I will be working with the President to challenge these people who do not represent the best interests of Hoosiers.”
Republicans have successfully kicked off a gerrymandering battle ahead of the 2026 midterms, with new maps passed in several states including Texas, North Carolina, Missouri and Ohio.
Democrats in California, Virginia and Maryland have responded with redistricting efforts of their own.
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