Indiana Republicans are weighing whether to redraw the state’s congressional map outside the normal 10-year cycle, a move that could weaken Democratic power in Northwest Indiana and reshape the state’s political balance.
No formal proposal has been introduced, but conversations inside the Statehouse have intensified following Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Indianapolis last week, where he spoke with Republican leaders about considering new maps.
Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray said afterward that lawmakers remain divided on whether to move forward.
“We talked a lot about that — pros and cons — and so, no decisions were made,” Bray told the Indiana Capital Chronicle. “But we’re going to work on that and hopefully have a decision very soon.”
Local Republican state legislators did not respond to Capital B Gary requests for comment.
Last month, the Gary Common Council unanimously passed a resolution opposing mid-cycle redistricting. Council members said the move would unfairly target the city’s voters and weaken its political influence.
“The fact they’re trying to redistrict within a 10-year period is unacceptable, and they publicly have made this a political issue — that’s the problem,” said Councilman Darren Washington, who sponsored the resolution.
Council President Lori Latham called the effort “an attempt to cheat before the midterms.”
“To stack the deck and redraw the lines in the middle of a decade is unacceptable,” she said. “We deserve to be represented. We deserve not to be gerrymandered.”
Washington also raised cost concerns, noting that Gov. Mike Braun has estimated the special session needed for redistricting would cost taxpayers roughly $260,000.
Democrats fear the 1st Congressional District, which is currently represented by U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan and anchored by Gary, could be redrawn south into rural Republican counties such as Benton, White, and Pulaski.
At a recent town hall, Democrats circulated a proposed congressional map received by House Republicans.
“If they redistrict, they’re not going to go the way they have been going, which is east,” said state Rep. Carolyn Jackson of Hammond. “They’re going to go south because they know they can pick up the necessary votes.”
Indiana’s nine congressional seats are now split 7-2 in favor of Republicans. A southward shift of the district would likely add thousands of conservative voters to one of the state’s last two Democratic-held congressional seats.
“In reality, Indiana is really more purple,” said Democratic state Rep. Ed DeLaney of Indianapolis. “So we need to make sure we protect that ability for Democratic voices to mean something and have impact.”
Republican divisions
Indiana has come into the crosshairs of the Trump administration as a state ripe for congressional map adjusting, given its Republican controlled state legislature. States such as Texas and Missouri have already redrawn their maps after receiving pressure from Washington.
Vice President Vance visited the Indiana Statehouse in August, and Indiana Republicans made a visit to the White House shortly after.
Redistricting has changed Indiana representation drastically in the past two decades, both in Congress and the statehouse.
Following the 2000 census, Democrats held a 52-46 advantage in the Indiana House. By 2010, that lead had vanished. Republicans held a 19-seat advantage, with 59 seats to Democrats’ 40.
Their majority has only grown in the decade since, which now sees the party with 71 of the 100 House seats.
In Congress, similar changes have taken place. As recently as 2008, Democrats held five of Indiana’s nine congressional seats; today, they hold just two.
Asked if there is a way to legally challenge preliminary redistricting, DeLaney, a former election attorney, said options are limited.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has walked away from the issue of redistricting,” he said. “However, there is the racial issue that is still possible, and the two districts that are under attack have the largest number of minorities.”
Governor Braun has floated the idea of calling a special session this fall, but insists nothing has been decided.
“Whatever we discuss there, if that topic comes up, is exploratory,” Braun told The Indiana Lawyer. “So there’s been no commitments made other than that.”
Some Republicans, however, are eager to act.
“Until Congress does its job, I think states have an obligation to really protect the interests of the majority,” state Rep. Andrew Ireland told WIBC Radio. “We’re burning daylight here … every day we wait is another day we risk not getting it done.”
