Indiana will likely not join the handful of states that have chosen to redraw their congressional district maps prior to the 2026 elections.
Senate Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R-Martinsville) said Nov. 14 that the idea, which has been backed by President Donald Trump, lacks support in the state’s Republican-controlled Senate.
“Over the last several months, Senate Republicans have given very serious and thoughtful consideration to the concept of redrawing our state’s congressional maps,” Bray said in a statement to media outlets. “Today, I’m announcing there are not enough votes to move that idea forward, and the Senate will not reconvene in December.”
Republican Gov. Mike Braun, who had called for a special session of the General Assembly to consider the matter, urged GOP lawmakers to forge ahead with a vote.
Vice President JD Vance met with Republican lawmakers in Indiana about the issue on Aug. 7 and Oct. 10.
Following the Oct. 10 meeting, Indiana’s Republican House Speaker Todd Huston said, “We’ll keep discussing this within our caucus and with the Hoosiers we represent as we come to a decision soon.”
The General Assembly was to begin deliberation on the matter on Dec. 1 as part of its organizational session for the upcoming year.
Indiana has nine congressional districts, two of which are held by Democrats.
Republicans have a supermajority in both houses of the Indiana General Assembly, holding 40 of the 50 Senate seats and 70 of the 100 House seats.
The General Assembly was to begin deliberation on the matter on Dec. 1 as part of its organizational session for the upcoming year.
“Now that this reckless idea has collapsed, our focus can return to where it should have been all along. Hoosiers. Their budgets. Their safety. Their health. Their future,” Yoder told The Epoch Times.
Rep. André Carson (D-Ind.) said Bray’s announcement reflected the state’s independent thinking.
“I want to thank Senator Bray and all the Republican and Democratic members of the Indiana Statehouse who held firm on Hoosier values. This is a win for all of us,” Carson told The Epoch Times.
California, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas have passed new congressional maps since the 2024 election. A federal judge ordered that a new map be created for Utah.
The redrawn congressional districts could flip up to five seats in California and one in Utah in favor of Democrats. Redistricting in the remaining states could swing nine seats in favor of Republicans.
Four other states have pending litigation that could lead to redistricting: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Tennessee.
The Epoch Times has requested comment from Huston on the Bray announcement.