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The state Senate in Indiana defeated a plan to redraw the voting map, in a way that could have flipped two House seats. This was despite months of pressure from President Trump.
AILSA CHANG, HOST: For the first time, Republican state lawmakers have voted down President Trump’s call for congressional redistricting. The vote happened in Indiana today. The state Senate there defeated a plan to redraw the voting map in a way that could have flipped two House seats that are now held by Democrats. This was despite months of pressure from Trump, who’s been pushing Republican-led states to redistrict and help the party hold on to the House in next year’s midterm elections. We’re joined now by Ben Thorpe from WFYI at the Capitol building in Indianapolis. Hi, Ben.BEN THORPE, BYLINE: Hi.CHANG: OK, so tell us about the debate and the vote in the state Senate today.THORPE: So there have been months of pressure from Washington and back-and-forth over how the senators were going to vote. I think it’s worth emphasizing that here in Indiana, they are overwhelmingly Republican. There were protesters against redistricting that you could hear from inside the Senate chamber today, and looming over everything was this pressure from the Trump administration. Here’s one of the Republicans who opposed the new voting map, State Senator Spencer Deery.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)SPENCER DEERY: And as long as I have breath, I will use my voice to resist a federal government that attempts to bully, direct and control this state or any state. Giving the federal government more power is not conservative.THORPE: Opponents also noted that states usually redistrict early in the decade after the census comes in. Republicans just passed the current map in 2021. And Democrats – there are only 10 in the Senate – said the new map would have split up voters in Indianapolis in ways that would weaken the voting power of Black communities and could be illegal racial gerrymandering.CHANG: OK. And in the end, the vote was 31 against and 19 in favor – is that right?THORPE: That’s correct.CHANG: So what was the case that Republicans in favor of redistricting making (ph)?THORPE: So Republicans in favor of this new map have pointed to Democratic states where they see gerrymandering taking place and have argued that Indiana has a responsibility to try an even the playing field for Republicans. Part of their concern has been that if Democrats are able to regain control of the House it’s going to be a setback for the MAGA agenda and could lead to another impeachment effort against Trump. Here’s Republican State Senator Mike Young.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)MIKE YOUNG: Only a handful of districts throughout the United States will determine who controls Congress, and we may or may not do our part today to keep our nation in the hands of Republicans.THORPE: So Republicans basically saw the two Democratic congressional seats in the state as something that they could redistrict to give Republicans that edge.CHANG: And what was President Trump doing specifically to try to push this redistricting through?THORPE: There was a lot of pressure. President Trump has been calling out Republican senators on social media, has threatened to support primary challenges against any lawmaker who is in support of this map. So it’s been really tense. And then in recent weeks, several senators reported anonymous threats against them. Some said police had been called out to their homes with false reports of swatting attacks that could have been really dangerous.CHANG: Wow, OK. So then overall, where does Trump’s redistricting push stand at this moment?THORPE: Republicans still have a few seats’ lead in this nationwide redistricting race. They redistricted in Texas, North Carolina and Missouri. Democrats have only counted so far in California. But other Republican states – Kansas and Florida – have considered it, and we’ll see if they’re watching what happened here in Indiana today.CHANG: That is Ben Thorpe from WFYI. Thank you so much, Ben.THORPE: Thank you.(SOUNDBITE OF HI-TEK SONG, “ALL I NEED IS YOU”)
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