The political landscape continues to change ahead of the uber-important midterm elections that will define the waning years of President Donald Trump’s tenure.
But it’s not just the changes in the nation’s capital that will influence the president; it’s also what is happening at the state level.
Earlier this year, Indiana Republicans defied Trump and refused to engage in a mid-decade redistricting effort that would have netted more GOP seats, as other Republican states had done.
And now, one of those state lawmakers who opposed the Trump-backed plan is resigning his position in the Senate.
“Serving as the President Pro Tem of the Senate for eight years has been among the most significant honors of my life, but it’s time for the Senate to choose another leader,” state Sen. Rodric Bray, who was against the redistricting plan, said on Thursday.
“Our caucus has led the way in numerous policy areas, passing laws that resulted in more than 20 tax cuts, initiatives to lower the cost of health care, laws that resulted in a sharp increase in literacy rates in our schools, and measures that ushered in record capital investment through 2024,” he added in a statement posted by Fox59/CBS4Indy correspondent Hannah Adamson on the X platform.
“That’s a track record I will always stand behind, and I’m incredibly proud to have accomplished this work as the Pro Tem alongside my distinguished colleagues,” Bray concluded.
After Republican lawmakers in Indiana sided with Democrats to defeat a proposed congressional redistricting plan in December, Trump signaled he would support a primary challenge against a leading GOP state senator.
The state Senate’s vote of 31-19 defeated the congressional redistricting plan that Trump has been urging Republicans to back in an effort to preserve their majority in the U.S. House for the 2026 midterm elections.
A total of 21 Republicans teamed up with 10 Democrats to vote against the proposed district lines that might have allowed Republicans to gain two additional seats.
Trump singled out Bray at the time.
“I heard he was against it,” Trump said. “He’ll probably lose his next primary, whenever that is. I hope he does, because he’s done a tremendous disservice.”
Trump added later that he would “certainly support anybody who wants to go against him.”
Following the failed vote, Bray said in a statement per PBS that while Republicans in the state Senate want to see a GOP majority in Congress in the 2026 midterm elections, “the issue before us today was how to get there, and many of my caucus members don’t think redrawing our Congressional map mid-cycle is a guaranteed way for Indiana – or our country – to achieve that outcome.”
In a post on X, Vice President JD Vance also ripped Bray and indicated that the Indiana Senate leader had privately indicated to him and the president that he would not work against passage of the measure.
“Rod Bray, the Senate leader in Indiana, has consistently told us he wouldn’t fight redistricting while simultaneously whipping his members against it,” Vance said.
“That level of dishonesty cannot be rewarded, and the Indiana GOP needs to choose a side,” Vance wrote.
The failure of the GOP supermajority in the state Senate to pass the measure also drew the ire of GOP Gov. Mike Braun, who was fully supportive of it.
Following the plan’s defeat, Braun issued a sharply worded statement warning of potential “political consequences” for Republican lawmakers who joined Democrats in rejecting a new congressional map that would have strengthened the GOP’s position ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
“I am very disappointed that a small group of misguided state senators have partnered with Democrats to reject this opportunity to protect Hoosiers with fair maps and to reject the leadership of President Trump,” Braun posted on X at the time.
“Ultimately, decisions like this carry political consequences. I will be working with the president to challenge these people who do not represent the best interests of Hoosiers.”