Donald Trump’s political operation is considering primarying Indiana lawmakers who don’t embrace his mid-decade redistricting plans.
“They have a mountain of cash and even more motivation to win the redistricting wars Democrats started long ago,” a person familiar with the White House’s thinking told POLITICO.
The electoral threats are an escalation of a pressure campaign as Trump and his allies try to extract more GOP seats in Congress across the country. Indiana has been a top target of those efforts, but resistance among some rank-and-file officials has grown as a number of state lawmakers have publicly opposed those efforts in recent days.
“Politics is a team sport, and they prefer to do things with the team … but if Republicans refuse to play team ball, they will very likely begin to focus on upgrading players,” said the person, who was granted anonymity to discuss private operational plans.
The comments came as Indiana House Republicans were preparing to convene for an afternoon caucus Monday to discuss redistricting. Lawmakers have already been targeted by robocalls and text messages from a mysterious group called Forward America. There is little public information about the group and its aggressive voter outreach campaign; a POLITICO reporter who lives in Indiana has received about two dozen calls and messages in recent days.
A number of Indiana lawmakers are planning a pilgrimage to the White House later this month, responding to an invitation extended prior to Vice President JD Vance’s visit to the state to talk redistricting.
“This doesn’t get any easier for Hoosier Republicans who oppose Trump on this issue,” said an Indiana Republican who supports the redistricting push. The Indiana Republican was granted anonymity to speak openly about a sensitive intraparty issue.
The threats of primaries are the latest signal that Trump’s political shop intends to amp up the redistricting arms race as Texas lawmakers move forward this week with passing a map creating five new GOP seats in Congress. It also shows they are eager to clamp down on any discomfort within the party over creating new maps ahead of the 2030 Census.
Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk said on X Monday that “We will support primary opponents for Republicans in the Indiana State Legislature who refuse to support the team and redraw the maps. I’ve heard from grassroots across the country and they want elected Republicans to stand up and fight for them. It’s time for Republicans to be TOUGH.”
The pressure on Indiana lawmakers comes as Texas is moving forward with a redraw of its congressional map at the request of Trump — and California is crafting its own retaliation.
On Monday, dozens of Texas Democrats returned to Austin after protesting redistricting by remaining out-of-state for two weeks, denying Republicans the ability to conduct legislative business. As Texas Republicans are back on path to passing their new, more aggressive gerrymander, national Republicans have turned their attention to other states like Florida, Missouri and Indiana.
A spokesperson for the Indiana House Republican Caucus did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House also did not respond to a request for comment.
