Gov. Mike Braun floated the idea of the Indiana state legislature meeting in November in a special session to address redistricting, but also stated that the decision is ultimately up to legislative leadership.
“You’re going to find that, probably, the legislators will come around to it. I’m going to give them time,” Braun said. “I think eventually we’ll get there.”
During an interview with a Fort Wayne radio station Monday, Braun said as leaders in Missouri, Ohio and other Republican-led states move forward with redistricting, Indiana “will evolve in that direction.”
The decision is up to the legislature, but many legislators have seemingly voiced their support of redistricting, Braun said. Indiana could also face consequences from President Donald Trump’s administration if it doesn’t redistrict, he said.
“I wanted it to be where it wasn’t forced upon our legislature, have our leaders talk to their own caucus members. Some have already changed their point of view when they look at what good comes from it,” Braun said. “If we try to drag our feet as a state on it, probably, we’ll have consequences of not working with the Trump Administration as tightly as we should.”
When asked about the timeline for redistricting, Braun said the legislature could address redistricting at the start of the 2026 legislative session in January or “more ideally” some time in November.
Spokeswomen for Republican House and Senate leadership did not respond to requests for comment about Braun’s interview. The Indiana Capital Chronicle reported that House and Senate leadership met last week in closed-door caucuses to discuss redistricting.
Vice President JD Vance came to Indianapolis in August to talk to Republican leaders about redistricting. Republican legislators were also invited to the White House after Vance’s visit, where redistricting was also discussed, said House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers.
President Donald Trump and national Republicans have been pressuring red states to change their congressional maps before the 2026 election to increase Republican control of the U.S. House.
Texas lawmakers recently approved redistricted maps to include five new districts that would favor Republicans. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the new maps into law, but a lawsuit has already been filed against Abbott and the Secretary of State for the maps.
In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has approved a special election to take place in November for residents to vote on a redrawn congressional map designed to help Democrats win five more House seats next year.
Meanwhile, Trump has pushed other Republican-controlled states, including Indiana and Missouri, to also revise their maps to add more winnable Republican seats. Ohio Republicans were also already scheduled to revise their maps to make them more partisan.
It is unusual for redistricting to take place in the middle of the decade and typically occurs once at the beginning of each decade to coincide with the census.
Indiana was last redistricted in 2021, which left Congressional Republicans with seven seats and Democrats two seats. The two Democratic seats are the first district, held by U.S. Rep Frank Mrvan, and the seventh district, held by U.S. Rep. André Carson.
State Senator Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, said he will wait to hear from Senate leadership about a special session timeline. As of Tuesday, Niemeyer said he wasn’t sure how he would vote to redistrict Indiana.
“There’s both sides to the issue,” Niemeyer said.
State Rep. Mike Aylesworth, R-Hebron, said he wouldn’t comment on redistricting other than to say he heard Braun’s comment and that it was the governor’s “prerogative” to comment on redistricting.
State Sen. Dan Dernulc, R-Highland, said Senate leadership hasn’t made an announcement on a potential special session.
“There’s no date or tentative timeline that we’ve discussed,” Dernulc said.
When asked his stance on redistricting, Dernulc said he’s “willing to listen.”
State Sen. Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton, said the Trump administration has been pushing for mid-census redistricting as a way of “absolving themselves of responsibility” for the policies approved since taking office.
When Indiana underwent redistricting after the 2020 census, the majority of legislators spoke about how well the maps were drawn, Pol said. To redistrict mid-census “flies in the face of democracy,” Pol said.
“This isn’t about winning elections, this is about rigging,” Pol said.
A map, created by an unknown user, has been posted on social media as an example of how to redistrict Indiana, targeting Democratic First and Seventh districts. In the First District, the map proposes dividing Porter County roughly diagonally down the middle between the First and Second districts.
Splitting Porter County between two districts divides a “cultural region” where people have similar jobs and go to the same schools, Pol said. The map posted on social media would result in a segment of Porter County residents who vote in different districts than their neighbors across the street, he said.
“The way the maps are drawn right now, they capture the region as a cultural region. That is ‘The Region,’” Pol said.
State Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, said he has been thinking that the governor’s and legislative leaders’ “no action” on redistricting up to this point meant they didn’t have a timeline in place for a potential special session.
“I find it unfortunate,” Smith said of Braun suggesting a November special session. “If they decide to take this action, then the citizens have to show them who’s in charge by voting.”
Senate Democratic Leader Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, issued a statement Tuesday calling the “push to rig” Indiana’s congressional districts an attempt at “silencing voters before the next election.”
“If you have to cheat to win, you’ve already lost the trust of the people. If you’re trying to rig the rules in the middle of a term, then you’re not representing Hoosiers. You’re erasing them,” Yoder said.
akukulka@post-trib.com