We’ve been known to give Indiana a hard time, and rightly so over harebrained ideas such as aiding a portion of downstate Illinois in an effort to redraw state lines. Not so today.

Instead, we’d like to applaud the independence and fortitude shown by so many state lawmakers who stood up last Thursday against threats and intimidation. It’s hard enough taking shots from your political opponents — it’s even tougher when the pressure is coming from the same side of the aisle.

President Donald Trump has pressed GOP state lawmakers in states like Indiana as part of a mid-decade redistricting campaign. Texas listened. Indiana was supposed to fall in line.

The prospect of a remap had been hanging over the Indiana legislature for months. After weeks of uncertainty, state lawmakers convened last week to confront the issue. The state Senate rejected the map proposal by a 31-19 vote, with 21 Republicans joining their Democrat peers in voting no. Having publicly said Illinois would feel pressure to follow suit if Indiana redrew its maps, Gov. JB Pritzker didn’t take that option off the table. But don’t expect any action on that front in Illinois.

As for Indiana, Trump made it clear to lawmakers that if they didn’t change their maps to add more Republican seats, there would be consequences, including federal aid cuts. Trump allies at Heritage Action, the advocacy arm of the Heritage Foundation, crystallized these threats in a post on X Dec. 11, writing that if Indiana didn’t pass the new map, “Roads will not be paved. Guard bases will close. Major projects will stop. These are the stakes and every NO vote will be to blame.” Now, the president has said he’ll back primary challenges to lawmakers who voted no.

People don’t take too kindly to that type of public bullying. Not even the president’s friends.

“You wouldn’t change minds by being mean. And the efforts were mean-spirited from the get-go,” said Indiana state Sen. Jean Leising, who voted for Trump three times. “If you were wanting to change votes, you would probably try to explain why we should be doing this, in a positive way. That never happened.”

Republican state Sen. Spencer Deery, who voted against the maps, said, “My opposition to mid-cycle gerrymandering is not in contrast with my conservative principles. My opposition is driven by them.”

Their bravery was met with an appalling escalation — Leising said her home was targeted with a pipe-bomb threat last month. Lawmakers knew physical threats were a possibility, and they stood their ground anyway.

You can only push people so far.

Leising’s sentiments ring true to Midwestern sensibilities, and to a broader frustration with the increasingly coercive tone politicians adopt when determined to get their way. In this case, it was the threats coming from the president and his allies that Indiana lawmakers simply couldn’t stomach.

On top of that, they didn’t like being used as pawns, especially since it would’ve meant betraying their constituents and principles. Redrawing maps mid-cycle would only deepen cynicism about a process already viewed as overly political. With this question settled, the focus in Springfield and Indianapolis should return to governing, not manipulating the rules of the game.

GOP lawmakers who run our neighboring state deserve credit for their courage and sticking to their principles.

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