Why this Indiana Republican bucks Trump on redistricting

Christian Science Monitor·Nov 21

Why this Indiana Republican bucks Trump on redistricting

When Spencer Deery first decided to run for his state Senate seat in western Indiana four years ago, he knew he would face hard moments. Senator Deery admits, however, that he never expected anything like this past week, which has included attacks from leaders in his own party – such as the Indiana governor and president of the United States – and a swatting attack on his family’s home Thursday morning.But as difficult as this past week has been, Mr. Deery says his vote that triggered it all was not.After President Donald Trump called for Texas to redraw its congressional maps this summer to create a more advantageous map for the Republican Party ahead of next year’s midterm elections, focus quickly turned to Indiana in search of more GOP seats. Republicans saw an opportunity here, in a state that President Trump won by double digits in the past three elections. With a Republican governor and Republican supermajorities in both state legislative chambers, the party could pick up two House seats and create a 9-0 GOP district map. Why We Wrote This Republican state lawmakers from Indiana have rejected pressure from the White House to conduct a midcycle redrawing of their