The Indiana Senate will forgo a two-week session to discuss mid-census redistricting because of a lack of votes, defying orders from the Trump Administration to change the state’s Congressional maps.
“Over the last several months, Senate Republicans have given very serious and thoughtful consideration to the concept of redrawing our state’s congressional maps. Today, I’m announcing there are not enough votes to move that idea forward, and the Senate will not reconvene in December,” Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray said in a statement Friday.
Gov. Mike Braun issued a statement Friday calling on the Senate “to show up.”
“I called for our legislators to convene to ensure Hoosiers’ voices in Washington DC are not diluted by the democrats’ gerrymandering. 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,” Braun said in the statement.
House leadership did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It is unclear if the House will meet in December, but the Senate would have to approve any legislation the House passed.
The 2026 session begins Tuesday, with Organization Day, after which the Senate will reconvene on Jan. 5, 2026.
The Senate had been a hurdle for Indiana’s redistricting efforts after a spokeswoman for Bray, R-Martinsville, told reporters last month that the Senate did not have the votes to pass new Congressional maps.
Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith issued a statement in support of redistricting, calling the Indiana Senate a place “where conservative ideas from the House go to die,” seemingly in response to a Politico article about the Indiana Senate not having enough votes to pass new maps.
“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),” Beckwith said in his statement. “Yet, here we are again. The Indiana Republican-controlled Senate is failing to stand with President Trump, failing to defend the voice of Hoosier voters, and failing to deliver the 9-0 conservative map our citizens overwhelmingly expect.”
President Donald Trump and national Republicans have been pressuring red states to change their congressional maps before the 2026 election to increase Republican control of the U.S. House.
In August, Texas lawmakers approved redistricted maps to include five new districts that would favor Republicans. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed off on the new maps, but a lawsuit has been filed against Abbott and the Secretary of State for the maps.
After Texas began discussing redistricting, California Gov. Gavin Newsom approved a special election to take place in November for residents to vote on a redrawn congressional map designed to help Democrats win five more House seats next year. The ballot measure passed, and the Trump Administration is suing the state to stop the efforts.
Meanwhile, Trump has pushed other Republican-controlled states, including Indiana and Missouri, to also revise their maps to add more winnable Republican seats. Ohio Republicans have also started the process of partisan redistricting.
Vice President JD Vance came to Indianapolis in early August to talk to Republican leadership about redistricting. More than 55 Republican state legislators went to the White House on Aug. 27 to talk about redistricting, and then Vance returned to Indianapolis on Oct. 10 to further discuss redistricting.
During the White House visit, Politico reported Trump met privately with Bray and House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers.
It is unusual for redistricting to take place in the middle of the decade and typically occurs once at the beginning of each decade to coincide with the census.
Indiana was last redistricted in 2021, which left Congressional Republicans with seven seats and Democrats two seats. The two Democratic seats are the First District, held by U.S. Rep Frank Mrvan of Highland, and the Seventh District, held by U.S. Rep. André Carson of Indianapolis.
“Today’s announcement should not come as a surprise to any Hoosier,” Mrvan said in a statement. “As a lifelong resident of Northwest Indiana, and as someone whose father proudly served in the Indiana State Senate, we can all appreciate the thoughtful and deliberate work that went into the 2022 redistricting process.
“As we move forward, I remain committed to ensuring that every community in our region and state can grow and prosper.”
Braun called for a special legislative session to “consider altering the boundaries of Indiana’s congressional districts” and federal and state tax compliance beginning Nov. 3, according to a news release.
Indiana House and Senate leadership announced Nov. 3 the legislature will address “time sensitive issues” — including redistricting and taxes — during the first two weeks of December.
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State Sen. Dan Dernulc, R-Highland, said he would “honor” the will of the Senate caucus. Dernulc said he hadn’t yet decided how to vote on redistricting.
State Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, said the Senate called off the December meeting because the “majority votes were not there.” He declined to comment further.
State Sen. Rodney Pol said he was pleased the legislators listened to constituents about redistricting. Pol, D-Chesterton, said he held town halls where the majority of people opposed the measure, and he also received correspondence against redistricting over the last several months.
“People just didn’t want it,” Pol said. “They looked at it in a very negative light.”
Senate Minority Leader Shelli Yoder said in a statement that Hoosiers stopped the redistricting effort. Yoder, D-Bloomington, said “Washington insiders” pressured Braun to change the maps, because “they are afraid of voters.”
“This should have never been considered,” 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.”
Assistant Minority Andrea Hunley said in a statement that the redistricting effort failed because Hoosiers called and emailed their legislators to push back against the effort.
“We won’t be strong-armed into passing overly racist maps that target our most diverse counties and work to silence the families who call those counties home,” Hunley, D-Indianapolis, said. “Just because our legislature is a supermajority, doesn’t mean every outcome is predetermined. Though the odds are often stacked against us, good is always worth fighting for, and we must continue that work.”
Indiana Black Legislative Caucus chair State Rep. Earl Harris Jr., D-East Chicago, said in a statement that the caucus is “looking forward to focusing our efforts on our 2026 legislative agenda, which will focus on lowering the cost of living and giving every Hoosier a fair shot at economic security.”
House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, said in a statement that it’s time for the legislature to move forward.
“Now that the topic of redistricting is behind us, I look forward to working on bringing down the cost of living for Hoosiers during the upcoming legislative session,” GiaQuinta said.