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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowGov. Mike Braun on Friday again declined to say where he stands on redistricting congressional maps, maintaining that he wants to hear first from Republican leaders in the Indiana General Assembly.
“I’ve been very clear on that issue. That hasn’t changed,” Braun told reporters during a visit to the Indiana State Police post in Indianapolis. “You’re going to hear individual representatives and senators speak up, and the two leaders of each caucus, I think, are going to … put a lot of thought into what their own members are wanting to do, and that process will take a while to play out.”
Braun emphasized that he is deferring to House Speaker Todd Huston and Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray. Neither of the Republican legislative leaders have made their positions clear either, though some of their caucus members have.
One longtime Senate Republican came out Friday against redistricting as the likelihood for a special session seems to be gaining momentum.
“Our maps are only four years old. They have undergone considerable public scrutiny and review,” said Sen. Greg Walker, R-Columbus. “There is no justification for holding a special session to change our districts in mid-census. If Texas and California want to take the cynical step of redistricting their seats, so be it. But Hoosier lawmakers should be leaders in resisting this hypocrisy, not followers of this effort promoted by outsiders, not Hoosiers.”
Braun urges ‘listening’
Indiana’s next, regularly scheduled legislative session will begin in early January. There is a one-day ceremonial Organization Day also in November.
“Once I get a clear message from (Bray and Huston), I’ll decide whether we’re going to call a session—or if there are other reasons why you’d need a session prior to what we’re going to be doing in January,” Braun added.
The governor’s indecisiveness comes as Indiana Republicans face increasing pressure from Washington, D.C., to revisit the state’s congressional districts, last drawn in 2021.
Club for Growth—a leading national conservative group—has put together an ad saying, “Hoosier Republicans must fight back. Trump needs state lawmakers to pass new maps to level the playing field.”
A group of Republican state lawmakers traveled to the White House earlier this week where talks centered, in part, on redistricting. Bray and Huston additionally had a private discussion with President Donald Trump.
“They are polling their own members in each caucus,” Braun said. “They’re in the process, they’re getting their own members engaged, and you’ll see more—because there’ll be more.”
The governor noted, however, that he has yet to speak with Bray, Huston or other state lawmakers about redistricting.
“I want everybody to weigh in, to speak out individually, and then the two leaders will have to collate all that and see where we go,” Braun continued. “And if somebody wants to speak to me directly, just like on any subject, I’m more accessible than probably any governor has been, and they want to talk to me about it, fine, I’m not reaching out to them because they’re members of those two caucuses.
Where Indiana lawmakers stand
While many Indiana Republicans have kept mum about their stances on redistricting, some have shifted their tone since returning from their trip to the nation’s capital.
Walker—who is not seeking re-election—urged Braun and colleagues to resist any push for redistricting.
He defended the current boundaries, writing that “the current maps increased the number of counties contained within one district and reduced the number of townships split among districts.”
He noted that 84 of Indiana’s 92 counties remain whole under the plan and that population totals in each district are “nearly equal, give or take a handful of people, at just over 753,000 people.”
Republicans currently hold a 7-2 advantage in Indiana’s congressional delegation. The maps, approved by the GOP-controlled legislature and signed into law by then-Gov. Eric Holcomb, have not been challenged in court.
“To those who want to redraw the districts it’s worth noting that they are very good maps, free from lawsuits,” Walker said. “Our legislature should keep our focus on solving problems facing Hoosiers, not responding to the political priorities of other states or D.C. interests.”
“Our maps are fair,” he added. “They are balanced. And in Indiana, voters have the power.”
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.
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Would be absolutely ridiculous to redistrict off cycle.
Perhaps even un-American.
In other words, he’s going to stay out of it until Trump orders it done.
If they’re going to redraw congressional maps, they should also redraw the maps for the Indiana legislature.
They will do what MAGA CULT Dear Leader TRUMP directs them to do . Republicans are not a political party anymore ,
I typically vote differently in state/local elections that I do in federal ones, because the Indiana politicians typically operate fairly independent of federal politics.
If this Bray / Huston can’t hold back the dam here and stand on principle, it will be a shame. Too bad Braun isn’t (or can’t) give political cover.
Indiana’s districts are already heavily gerrymandered in favor of Republicans. In a state where approximately 46% “identify” as Republican (IN voters are not registered by party), we have over 70% of the State Legislators/Senators and 7 of 9 US Reps, and both Senators are Republican. This is already unbalanced, and unfair to the 54% who are either Democratic or Independent. Indiana is considered a red state, when in actuality it is a purple state that is so badly gerrymandered that Democrats and Independents have no voice, which suppresses voter turnout.
I also find it hypocritical that Republicans are complaining that California and other blue states are redistricting for political reasons. If the blue states shouldn’t do it, then neither should Texas or any other red state, including Indiana.
REDISTRICTING IN INDIANA WOULD BE BAD FOR DEMOCRACY AND BAD FOR INDIANA!
CORRECTION: From the IBJ Article this afternoon titled “Indiana initiative supporting independent candidates launches”:
“…Based on data from L2, a nonpartisan provider, nearly 44% of registered voters in Indiana are independents—compared with about 31% who are Republicans and 25% who are Democrats. Because Indiana does not register voters by party, those figures are estimated based on recent partisan primary participation and supplemented with modeling analytics, the release said.”
If only 31% of Indiana voters are Republican, how is it that 70%+ of our representatives are Republican? And how is it that Indiana Republicans think it is OK to further gerrymander to increase that, thus decreasing the representation of Independent and democratic voters? Simply put – POWER AND GREED! STOP THIS MADNESS IN INDIANA POLITICS!