Why does this Indiana Republican oppose Trump on redistricting?

When Spencer Deary first decided to run for his Senate seat in western Indiana four years ago, he knew he would face tough moments. However, Senator Deere admits he never expected anything like last week, which included attacks from leaders in his own party — such as the governor of Indiana and the president of the United States — and attacks from leaders of his own party. A beating attack on his family’s home on Thursday morning.

But as difficult as the last week was, Mr. Deere says his vote that led to it all was not.

After President Donald Trump called on Texas to redraw its congressional maps this summer to create a more advantageous GOP map ahead of next year’s midterm elections, the focus quickly turned to Indiana in search of more GOP seats. Republicans saw an opportunity here, in a state that President Trump won by large margins in the past three elections. With a Republican governor and Republican supermajorities in both state legislatures, the party could pick up two House seats and create a 9-0 GOP district map.

The White House has spent significant political capital over the past few months to achieve this. Vice President J.D. Vance flew to Indiana twice to lobby legislative leaders, and Indiana lawmakers, including state House leaders, met with Mr. Trump. In the Oval Office In August. but On November 14thSenate President Pro Tempore Roderick Bray announced there were not enough votes in his chamber to move forward with redistricting. With 19 Republicans joining the 10 Democrats, senators voted 29-19 to postpone and not hold the special session in December on redistricting at the request of Governor Mike Braun – a member of the Senate. An unprecedented step In state history and proxy voting on Senate Republicans’ position on redistricting.

“For me, it’s really about what is the fundamental principle of the Constitution? And that is the idea of ​​popular sovereignty, or the idea that the people choose their own rulers,” says Mr. Deere, who was one of the first senators to oppose mid-session redistricting. “Anything that undermines violates my oath of office.” He knows that gerrymandering does happen, but he says it is “particularly egregious” to do it “at will” for fear of the election results.

“I do not take this position because I oppose conservative values,” he says, pointing to his conservative voting record and 100% approval rating from right-leaning groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood. Indiana Family Institute and Americans for Prosperity – Indiana. “I take it because of my conservative values.”

While Republican opposition to Trump’s wishes is rare and often futile, it was state lawmakers who initiated one of the most notable intraparty pushbacks during the president’s second term. This comes on the heels of Congress voting to release the Justice Department’s files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. While many of these GOP lawmakers say they share the president’s goals of achieving a Republican majority in the U.S. House after the 2026 midterm elections, they worry that redistricting could undermine those efforts and create divisions at a time when the party should be united.