Indiana Gov. Mike Braun on Monday called a special legislative session to consider redrawing the state's congressional map, though it’s unclear if enough GOP lawmakers will support the redistricting effort.
“I am calling a special legislative session 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, a Republican, said in a statement.
Indiana is the fourth Republican-controlled state to take up redistricting at the behest of President Donald Trump, who wants to shore up the party's narrow U.S. House majority ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Democrats in two states so far have also sought to counter with mid-decade redistricting efforts of their own, with Virginia set to reconvene a special session later Monday.
Indiana's session is scheduled to start on Nov. 3. Republicans currently control seven of Indiana's nine congressional districts.
The White House has been applying extraordinary pressure to persuade Republicans in the state to draw a new congressional map. Trump spoke with Indiana Republicans earlier this month, and Vice President J.D. Vance had made two trips to the state to talk redistricting with lawmakers.
But even as Braun calls a special session, Indiana Republicans remain divided on the issue. Molly Swigart, a spokesperson for the Indiana Republican state Senate majority, told NBC News Monday morning that "the votes still aren’t there for redistricting."
The divide has increasingly spilled over into public view, with Indiana Republicans firing off op-eds, social media posts and statements, talking about
“The people of Indiana did not elect a Republican supermajority so our Senate could cower, compromise, or collapse at the very moment courage is required,” Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith said in a statement last week, calling for map that could result in Republicans controlling all nine congressional seats.
GOP state Sen. Ron Alting announced he would support the redistricting effort on Friday night, citing the ongoing federal shutdown. But others have maintained their stance.
“For those trying to bully me on redistricting, I love you. I pray to our Lord and Savior for wisdom and reflect on political heroes who stood up for the greater good above the politics of the day,” state Sen. Gregory Goode wrote on X last week.
States typically redraw their congressional maps every 10 years after the census. But this year's mid-decade redistricting has been particularly aggressive.
Texas Republicans were the first to redraw their maps, designed to help the party pick up as many as five additional House seats. California Democrats responded with new lines that could result in five more seats for their party, pending approval by voters in a special election next week.
Missouri and North Carolina have enacted new maps that were drawn to net the GOP two more seats. And Democratic leaders have continued to pressure Maryland and Illinois to draw new district lines, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., traveling to Illinois Monday to keep up the pressure on lawmakers there.
On Monday, lawmakers in Virginia and Louisiana are expected to take action related to redistricting. Virginia Democrats will begin a special legislative session on Monday as part of an effort to repeal their bipartisan redistricting committee to pave the way for new maps drawn by lawmakers before next year’s election.
The repeal bill will originate in the Virginia state House and is expected to reach the state Senate floor Wednesday, state Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell said Monday.
Louisiana Republicans, bracing for a potential Supreme Court ruling that would allow them to also redraw their congressional maps before the 2026 election, are considering a bill that would delay the state's election calendar to give them more time for a redistricting effort.
And New York entered the fray through a side door. On Monday, four voters, represented in part by the Democratic-aligned firm Elias Law Group, sued New York lawmakers and election officials over the state's congressional map, arguing that Black and Latino voting strength was being diluted in Staten Island, an area represented by GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis.
