Gov. Mike Braun on Monday called a special legislative session to consider redrawing Indiana’s congressional map, setting up a potential political fight that could alter the balance of political power in Northwest Indiana and reshape the state’s electoral balance for years to come.
The session, scheduled to begin next week, is being called to “protect Hoosiers from efforts in other states that seek to diminish their voice in Washington and ensure their representation in Congress is fair,” Braun said in a statement.
His announcement follows weeks of private discussions among Republican leaders that included a visit to the White House, a call from President Donald Trump, and two visits from Vice President JD Vance about revisiting the maps drawn after the 2020 census, which is a rare step outside the normal 10-year redistricting cycle.
Though no proposal has been formally released, Democrats fear the state’s 1st Congressional District — represented by U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan and anchored by Gary and Lake County — could be pushed south into rural, Republican-leaning counties such as Benton, White, and Pulaski.
“It is unsurprising that Governor Braun has chosen to convene a special legislative session on mid-decade redistricting at the request of President Trump,” said Mrvan following Braun’s announcement.
“The only thing more unpopular in Indiana than redistricting is the Governor himself. His attempt to silence the very voters he represents is yet another example of how out of touch he is with the people of our great state.”
At a recent town hall, Democrats circulated a proposed congressional map said to have been drafted by House Republicans that shows the district could be pushed south into rural, Republican-leaning counties such as Benton, White, and Pulaski.
“If they redistrict, they’re not going east,” said state Rep. Carolyn Jackson, D-Hammond. “They’re going south — that’s where they can pick up the necessary votes.
Indiana’s nine congressional seats are currently split 7–2 in favor of Republicans. A southward shift of the 1st District would likely add thousands of conservative voters, threatening one of the last Democratic strongholds in the state.
The Gary Common Council passed a resolution in September unanimously opposing any mid-cycle redistricting, calling it a blatant attempt to weaken the city’s voting power.
“The fact they’re trying to redistrict within a 10-year period is unacceptable, and they’ve made it a political issue — that’s the problem,” said Councilman Darren Washington, who sponsored the measure.
Council President Lori Latham called the move “an attempt to cheat before the midterms.”
“To stack the deck and redraw the lines in the middle of a decade is unacceptable,” Latham said. “We deserve to be represented. We deserve not to be gerrymandered.”
“Let’s call it what it is,” said state Senate Democratic Leader Shelli Yoder. “An orchestrated attack on democracy itself. There is no new census, no court order and no support from the public. There is only political greed and fear. Fear of voters. Fear of accountability.”
