Indiana Senate Republicans announced Friday that they were rejecting President Donald Trump’s push for congressional redistricting — a move immediately blasted by Gov. Mike Braun and Trump allies.
Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray said in a statement Friday afternoon that the Senate won’t take up the issue, as was expected in an unusual December session.
“Over the last several months, Senate Republicans have given very serious and thoughtful consideration to the concept of redrawing our state’s congressional maps,” Bray said in a statement released by his office. “Today, I’m announcing there are not enough votes to move that idea forward, and the Senate will not reconvene in December.”
Indiana lawmakers were scheduled to meet starting Dec. 1 to consider drawing more Republican-leaning U.S. House districts ahead of next year’s midterm elections — following a months-long pressure campaign by Trump’s administration and his supporters.
If the decision by Senate Republicans stands, Indiana would become the first GOP-led state to outright turn down Trump’s wish to squeeze out more Republican-friendly congressional seats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Braun endorsed Trump’s push and called for legislators to convene Nov. 3 in a special session to redraw the congressional maps. Legislative leaders delayed that to Dec. 1.
“I called for our legislators to convene to ensure Hoosiers’ voices in Washington, D.C., are not diluted by the Democrats’ gerrymandering,” Braun said in a statement released by the governor’s office Friday. “Our state senators need to do the right thing and show up to vote for fair maps. Hoosiers deserve to know where their elected officials stand on important issues.”
This could be the first time in decades that legislators have not abided by a governor’s call for a special session. The state Constitution and code don’t explicitly require it.
In response to a request for comment from Republican House Speaker Todd Huston, his spokeswoman replied: “As we’ve said previously, the House does have the votes to support redistricting.”
The White House did not immediately comment Friday or respond to messages seeking reaction to Bray’s announcement, though Politico reported that Trump was summoning Indiana Republicans to D.C. for Oval Office visits.
Debate focused on Senate Republicans
Redistricting supporters wanted Indiana lawmakers to craft a map with all nine Indiana congressional districts favoring Republicans based on 2020 census data.
The current congressional maps drawn by Republicans in 2021 maintained a 7-2 GOP majority — with Democrat Frank Mrvan holding the 1st District in northwest Indiana and Democrat Andre Carson holding the 7th District, which covers much of Indianapolis.
“Prayer, people, and partnerships power change. We’re about collaboration, not division. We’re about independent thinking — not taking orders from Washington,” Carson said in a Friday statement. “Hoosiers do things differently. I want to thank Senator Bray and all the Republican and Democratic members of the Indiana Statehouse who held firm on Hoosier values. This is a win for all of us.”
Indiana’s entire GOP U.S. House delegation had lined up in support of the maneuver. And some were reacting Friday afternoon to the announcement.
“This is simply unacceptable,” posted U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-3rd. “Democrats are gaining ground in their states before our eyes and Indiana state senators are rolling over and letting the left overtake us. What will it take for Republicans to WANT to WIN?”
Undecided state senators had become the target of advertising campaigns, including digital, cellphone, television and mail ads from pro-redistricting groups.
Eight Republican senators among the 40-member caucus had come out publicly against redistricting, with 13 having announced their support, before Bray’s statement Friday.
Trump ally Marty Obst — leader of the pro-redistricting group Fair Maps Indiana — said he expected political repercussions for Bray and others.
“It’s a shame Senator Bray blocked the Special Session,” Obst told the Indiana Capital Chronicle. “It’s clear he does not support President Trump’s agenda. Senators should show up and do their jobs and vote on redistricting.
“Like elections, decisions have consequences. I anticipate those consequences to be severe,” said Obst, who held top roles in Trump’s 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns and was a senior political adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence.
Of the 25 state Senate seats up for election in 2026, 22 are now held by Republicans, who now command a 40-10 Senate majority.
Bray has been the top Senate Republican — as selected by his GOP colleagues — since late 2018. He was reelected last year by voters to a Senate term that runs until November 2028.
“I don’t think this is necessarily as damaging as it might feel” for Bray, said Laura Merrifield Wilson, a political science professor at the University of Indianapolis. “A lot of the polls indicated a 2-to-1 majority of Hoosiers opposing this,” Wilson said, though she acknowledged “vocal Hoosiers in support, too.”
“He may have been making a decision for what he sees as the greater good of the institution and his colleagues, even though it might be a short term setback, challenge and risk for his own immediate future,” Wilson told the Capital Chronicle.
Bray is accountable to more than constituents, though. There typically aren’t changes to the caucus’ leadership team between general elections, but the pro tem’s break with the governor and Trump administration could present an opportunity for his members.
“If there are ambitious state senators who are looking to maneuver around the (leader), maybe this is a time they want to do it, Wilson said.
She also noted tension among the different branches of government is not unprecedented, citing the Legislature’s rocky relationship with former Gov. Eric Holcomb.
“He was able to still very effectively pursue his agenda while in office,” Wilson said. “Having a little bit of tension isn’t necessarily a stop-gap for progress either.”
Redistricting foes hail decision
Senate Minority Leader Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, celebrated the decision, saying in a statement that “Washington insiders pressured the Governor to rig Indiana’s congressional maps in the middle of a decade for one reason.”
“They were afraid of voters. They were afraid of losing power the honest way,” Yoder said. “… Now that this reckless idea has collapsed, our focus can return to where it should have been all along. Hoosiers. Their budgets. Their safety. Their health. Their future.”
The pro-redistricting campaigns came as a recent statewide poll of 800 registered voters found 51% did not support redistricting now — with 45% “strongly” opposed. About 39% supported the prospect, but just 23% “strongly” backed it.
The poll was sponsored by the group Indiana Conservation Voters, which started an anti-redistricting campaignsoon after the possibility emerged in August with Vance’s first trip to Indianapolis pushing the issue.
Megan Robertson, the group’s executive director, called the pro-redistricting campaigns the product of Washington consultants trying to stir up voter anger.
“We are grateful that Senate leaders listened to Hoosiers and closed the door on mid-decade redistricting,” Robertson said in a statement Friday. “Families across our state have been clear: they want leaders focused on the real challenges they’re facing every day, not partisan power plays.”
Freshman Rep. Andrew Ireland, of Indianapolis, is among several Republicans in the House who have been outspoken in support of potential redistricting.
Ireland continued his calls on Friday, saying in a post to X that “Indiana cannot sit on the sidelines on redistricting while Democrats in California, Virginia, and Illinois are working to gerrymander away more Republican seats in Congress.”
State Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, was also one of the loudest supporters of redistricting and she took to social media to call Indiana a state of “cowards.”
“This is bad news for our conservative values. If Democrats take control of Congress, we will see impeachment hearings, woke ideology and higher taxes thrust upon Indiana and the rest of the country. Indiana will be blamed. And how cowardly that we couldn’t even take a vote. This is the time to stand up to Democrats who wish ill upon us, not cower to their demands,” Brown said.
“I will be face to face with my colleagues on Tuesday for Organization Day. I believe we can – and we must – consider all options for getting redistricting back on the table. Now’s a good time for folks to get off the sidelines.”
Trump started the national redistricting fight by pushing Texas Republicans to redraw its congressional map this summer, followed by Republican redistricting moves in Missouri, Ohio and North Carolina. An attempt by Kansas Republicans for a special session on redistricting has stalled.
Democrats responded with their own redistricting in California and possible moves in Illinois and Virginia.
