'We have lost our ever-loving mind':  Red state GOP in chaos as Trump launches revenge war

That is among the factors spurring recriminations by the pro-redistricting Republicans in Indiana, which, along with Democratic-run Maryland, was one of two states to outright reject party leaders’ demands for new congressional maps. But conversations with Republican operatives and lawmakers here revealed that disagreements over middecade gerrymandering were just one issue in a larger struggle for control of the party.Republican caucus chairman, State Sen. Travis Holdman, has faced attacks from opposing candidates and has pushed back from Trump's demands — despite voting for the president and donating to his campaigns. He argued he disapproved of redistricting, saying he thought it wasn't what his constituents wanted. Holdman had other complaints, The Dispatch reported. He said the White House was asking Republican legislators to rush through legislation enacting new maps in less than two months, even though custom was to spend up to five months on redistricting. Furthermore, Holdman said the proposed new congressional boundaries weren’t even released to lawmakers until just prior to the floor vote, which ultimately failed by a wide margin. “We were being asked to vote for something we hadn’t seen,” the senator told the outlet.He told Vice President JD Vance that he had concerns during a private meeting in October. I said: ‘You’re asking us to vote for something we haven’t seen. Can you get us the maps so we can see what the maps look like?’ Holdman said. Vance apparently looked at Holdman and told him, You'll have the maps tomorrow. But Holdman maintained those maps didn't arrive until Dec. 1. And when he saw the maps, he questioned whether the redistricting move would be worth it, arguing safe Republican seats would have been vulnerable to a Democratic flip. The president doesn’t even know me. I’ve never met the man. He wouldn’t know me if he saw me on the street, which is okay. That’s politics, Holdman said.The longtime lawmaker was worried that the scorched-earth battle to redistrict Indiana would ultimately damage the GOP. We have lost our ever-loving mind over this issue, Holdman added. The divisiveness of the language that’s being used—the name-calling. And if you’re not 100 percent loyal, you’re disloyal and therefore you’re an enemy—we’re coming after you. It will take decades to get the parties settled down to [get] to a spot where we can be unified again, because there’s been so much damage done.