Republicans have defeated President Trump’s orders to state legislature to redistrict
Today’s 19-31 vote in the Senate chamber of the Indiana General Assembly has stopped Indiana from joining Texas, North Carolina, and Missouri in redrawing congressional maps.
That means Indiana Republicans have defeated President Donald Trump’s orders to state legislatures to redistrict so that Republicans can have a larger number of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Indiana has nine congressional districts, giving each a seat in the U.S. House. Seven seats are held by Republicans and 2 are held by Democrats.
The Republican redistricting plan was targeting the two districts held by Democrats – U.S. Rep Frank Mrvan in the First Congressional District and U.S. Rep. Andre Carson in the Seventh Congressional District. By redrawing congressional district boundaries, they hoped to change those districts from blue to red.
Indiana’s 10 Democratic senators were joined by 21 Republican senators, ending the debate on HB 1032.
The bill was a test of Trump’s influence in the Indiana General Assembly.
If the Indiana Senate had approved the Republican’s redistricting plan in HB 1032, as did the Indiana House last week by a vote of 57-41, the bill would have been signed by Gov. Mike Braun.
On the senate side, Republicans hold a 40-10 majority; on the house side it’s 70-30. In last week’s House session, 12 Republicans crossed the aisle and joined Democrats opposing the bill.
Indiana’s mid-decade redistricting plan was first hinted at in August when state Republicans in the House heard from President Trump and Vice President JD Vance, asking them to redistrict.
But Republican Senate leaders were cautious, even after Gov. Mike Braun issued an executive order for the state legislators to convene in November for a special session to consider redistricting.
November’s special session was discarded when Speaker of the House Todd Huston and Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, both Republicans, determined the session would be held December 1-12. The two leaders agreed to start the regular 2026 legislative session early instead of in January.
“Because of this calendar alignment, starting the regular session early would be the most cost-effective and efficient way to address the Governor’s call for a special session,” Huston said in a statement. “Our goal is to avoid any added session-related costs, and we will continue to look for ways to save taxpayer dollars as we work through and finalize the schedule.”
Senator Bray had issued statements saying the votes were not there in the Senate for redistricting.
Today’s session on HB 1032 began at 1:30 EST with Democratic and Republican senators speaking on the bill. While all the Democratic speakers opposed the bill, the break in ranks showed up with Republicans.
State Senator Greg Goode (R-Terre Haute), District 38 said the consensus in his district was to “vote no. This bill creates barriers to collaboration. It splits counties. We should be focusing on cost of living, property taxes and health care. My vote will be based on common sense.”
State Senator Spencer Deery (R-West Lafayette), District 23 said, “Some say we should gerrymander now because Democrats have been doing it for years. My vote is to oppose mid-cycle redistricting. It’s time for patriots to stand by the Constitution. It’s time to say no to outsiders running our state.”
At 4:35 EST, the vote was called. In less than 2 minutes, the vote was counted. The bill needed 25 yeas for approval.
In a statement from the Governor’s Office, Braun said he was disappointed with the vote and issued a warning to the Republican senators who sided with Democrats against the bill. “I will be working with the President to challenge these people who do not represent the best interest of Hoosiers.”
Senate Republicans in and around northwest Indiana rejecting the bill were Ed Charbonneau, Dan Dernulc, Rick Niemeyer, and David Niezgodski.
