Indiana Black Legislative Caucus leads rally against new maps
Lawmakers and advocates called mid-decade redistricting a moral and civil rights issue.
Lawmakers and advocates called mid-decade redistricting a moral and civil rights issue.
House Speaker Todd Huston and Senate President Pro Tem Roderic Bray announced Monday that rather than hold a special session, the Indiana Legislature will convene for an early start to its regular session.
Per Indiana Code, legislators have up to 40 calendar days to conduct business in a special session.
That evaluation from Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray’s office comes as the White House has stepped up its pressure campaign on Indiana lawmakers.
Although Indiana leans Republican, caucus members argued that Hoosier Democrats should still be represented in Congress.
The call comes a week after Vice President JD Vance made his second trip to Indianapolis to discuss redistricting with Republicans in the House and Senate.
Indiana leaders on Friday met with Vice President JD Vance for the third time as they work to secure support for mid-cycle, partisan redistricting.
Another poll concluded that most Hoosiers oppose a GOP effort to redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Republican legal leaders, including Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, have declared a congressional district map redraw “perfectly legal.” Democrats and other opponents say they’ll challenge any such move in court.
A large crowd gathered inside the Indiana Statehouse on Thursday afternoon to see the former presidential candidate speak.
Gov. Mike Braun gave his clearest signal yet in support of mid-cycle redistricting in Indiana.
Gov. Mike Braun 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.
Indiana’s entire House GOP congressional delegation pledged support Monday for President Donald Trump’s plan to craft new federal district maps in an attempt to pick up one to two additional Republican seats in 2026.
National political newsletter Punchbowl News reported Friday morning that all Indiana GOP state lawmakers have been invited to the White House on Aug. 26.
The groups met on the same day national nonpartisan election advocates softened their uniform opposition to gerrymandering, saying they recognized the “wide-reaching crisis in our democracy.”
Hoosier leaders might be busy taking behind-the-scenes feedback on the prospect of early redistricting, but rank-and-file Republicans are increasingly going public with their opposition.
House Speaker Todd Huston and Senate Pro Tem Rodric Bray have declined to comment on redistricting thus far.
Vice President JD Vance was in Indianapolis last week in part to urge Gov. Mike Braun and GOP legislative leaders to redraw Indiana’s congressional maps.
Vice President JD Vance spent several hours in the Hoosier State on Thursday to meet with Indiana Gov. Mike Braun and other leaders about the possibility of creating more GOP seats with redrawn congressional boundaries.
An Indiana House Democrat called defeating mid-cycle redistricting “a knife fight for democracy.”