A top Republican in the Indiana state Senate said on Friday that he would not seek re-election to his leadership position in the hopes he could spare his colleagues from Donald Trump’s wrath after the president threatened to support primary challenges for any lawmakers who supported his bid.
Rodric Bray, the state Senate president pro tempore, tangled with Trump last fall after Trump demanded that the state redraw its congressional maps to give Republicans a larger advantage. Bray led his colleagues in opposing the measure, which ultimately failed, and Trump quickly vowed to exact his revenge on the lawmakers who defied him.
Bray, who didn’t use Trump’s name in his announcement but referred directly to the president’s “promises,” also said that he would remain in the chamber and that he stands by his record.