{"id":43,"date":"2026-05-19T22:08:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T22:08:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=43"},"modified":"2026-05-19T22:08:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T22:08:41","slug":"indiana-republican-got-trumped-for-voting-against-redistricting-but-he-would-do-it-all-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=43","title":{"rendered":"Indiana Republican Got \u2018Trumped\u2019 for Voting Against Redistricting \u2014 but He Would Do It All Again"},"content":{"rendered":"

When he voted against Republican efforts to redraw Indiana\u2019s congressional map last year, Indiana State Senator Jim Buck (R) says he didn\u2019t feel like he was standing up to President Trump, who had pushed for the new map.<\/p>\n

Read more UNC Charlotte Reinstates Sex-Segregated Housing, Walks Back Trans Exception<\/a><\/p>\n

He felt like he was standing up for his constituents.<\/p>\n

But when the Trump-backed map failed in the state senate in a 31\u201319 vote, Trump took it personally. He vowed to oust Buck and the six other GOP state senators who voted against the plan to create two more safe red seats in the Hoosier State.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last week, he largely made good on that promise. Buck, who was a 17-year veteran of the legislative body, and at least four other state senators were defeated by Trump-backed primary challengers. One other race involving an anti-redistricting Republican remains too close to call.<\/p>\n

But the 80-year-old lawmaker tells NR he wouldn\u2019t do anything differently, even after losing his seat. His constituency \u201coverwhelmingly\u201d wanted him to vote \u201cno,\u201d he said \u2014 despite the pressure he was facing from President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Governor Mike Braun, and several members of the state\u2019s congressional delegation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t do retroactive thinking,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I would have still voted the same way because, looking back, I would have still had the same calls and letters and people meeting me in restaurants telling me to vote \u2018no.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI always felt that I\u2019m the public servant, I\u2019m not the boss telling my people what they should do based upon intimidations, threats and so on,\u201d he said, adding that public servants cannot govern based on threats \u2014 even death threats. \u201cYou have to stay true to what you\u2019ve been elected to do, and that\u2019s represent the people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Among those ousted by Trump\u2019s retribution campaign were State Senator Travis Holdman, the third-most-powerful Republican in the chamber who had served in the legislative body for nearly 20 years. He was defeated by real estate agent Blake Fiechter.<\/span><\/p>\n

State Senator Greg Walker, a 20-year veteran of the chamber who had been eyeing retirement but chose to run for another term after the redistricting fight, lost his reelection bid to State Representative Michelle Davis.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump-backed anesthesiologist Brian Schmutzler defeated incumbent State Senator Linda Rogers, while insurance broker Trevor De Vries bested State Senator Dan Dernulc.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m concerned that we\u2019ve lost through this process a great deal of good men and women that had a vast experience in the legislature,\u201d Buck said. \u201cExperience takes time to gain.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Just one anti-redistricting state senator, Greg Goode, prevailed in the primary, defeating two challengers: Vigo County council member Brenda Wilson, who was backed by Trump, and Alexandra Wilson.<\/span><\/p>\n

While Indiana\u2019s Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray is not up for reelection until 2028, MAGA-aligned groups are hoping to push Bray out of his leadership role by ousting his state senate allies. Trump allies spent nearly $10 million on their efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Virginia Gerrymandering Decision Brings Out Dems\u2019 Inner Insurrectionists<\/a><\/p>\n

That Trump would launch an intraparty retribution campaign, particularly against Bray \u2014 an Indiana Republican who has served in the state senate since 2012, and whose father and grandfather served in the state legislature and Congress, respectively \u2014 has shocked some Hoosier Republicans.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGood luck to those Great Indiana Senate Candidates who are running against people who couldn\u2019t care less about our Country, or about keeping the Majority in Congress,\u201d Trump said in a <\/span>post<\/span> on Truth Social before polls closed in Indiana last week. \u201cLet\u2019s see how those RINOS do tonight!<\/span><\/p>\n

Buck now says he feels \u201csad for people in the future.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He pointed to the 1987 nomination of Robert Bork to the U.S. Supreme Court, which was rejected in such a fashion that \u201cto Bork\u201d became a verb, meaning to \u201cobstruct a nominee through systematic defamation or ideological character attacks, transforming confirmation hearings into partisan fights.\u201d<\/p>\n

But as Trump carries on his retribution campaign \u2014 of which Indiana was just one stop \u2014 Buck suggests people will instead say lawmakers have been \u201cTrumped.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t do as he says, there\u2019s going to be retribution and that, candidly, is what our Founders were so fearful of,\u201d he added. \u201cT<\/span>his is the first time in anybody\u2019s memory that a president has come down, along with the governor, and a U.S. senator, trying to demand that a duly elected state official bows to Washington\u2019s demand. It\u2019s just unheard of.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, Buck refuses to take a bitter tone about the unceremonious end to his 31-year career in the state legislature, which also included 14 years in the state house, and<\/span>\u00a0leadership roles in both chambers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t look at it that way,\u201d he said, when asked by NR how it feels for his lengthy career to come to an end in this way. \u201cI look at it that I\u2019ve been very blessed to serve in the [state] house and in the [state] senate.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are very few people that have the blessing of being able to be a public servant this long, and being able to shape Indiana, where we are today,\u201d he said, adding that he believes the state is now in a \u201cmuch better position\u201d today than when he was first elected.<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking forward, Buck hopes lawmakers won\u2019t be intimidated by Washington when redistricting comes up next. He urges them to pay attention to what their constituents want.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEven if it means your seat, because the highest honor<\/span> is to serve the public,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Virginia Democrats Escalate Redistricting Fight to U.S. Supreme Court<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jim Buck says he has no regrets after losing his seat to a Trump-backed primary challenger.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nIndiana Republican Got \u2018Trumped\u2019 for Voting Against Redistricting \u2014 but He Would Do It All Again - American Housing Transition<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanhousingtransition.com\/?p=43\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Indiana Republican Got \u2018Trumped\u2019 for Voting Against Redistricting \u2014 but He Would Do It All Again - 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