The Indiana Senate defeated a mid-census redistricting bill on Thursday, effectively killing any chances of mid-census redistricting in Indiana ahead and ending a months-long conversation with the Trump administration about creating new maps.
House Bill 1032, which would have given Republicans an advantage in all nine congressional districts, was introduced and passed by the House last week. This week, the Senate heard from more than 100 people in committee and advanced the bill through Thursday without amending it.
The bill was defeated with 31 senators voting against it and 19 in favor of the proposed map, which would have split the 1st District, currently held by U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, into two, and the 7th District, currently held by U.S. Rep. André Carson, D-Indianapolis, into four districts. Twenty-one Republicans joined Senate Democrats in voting against the bill. All of Northwest Indiana’s Senators, Republican and Democrat alike, voted against the bill.
The public gallery erupted into cheers when the result was announced.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun criticized the result on X/Twitter shortly after the vote.
“I am very disappointed that a small group of misguided State Senators have partnered with Democrats to reject this opportunity to protect Hoosiers with fair maps and to reject the leadership of President Trump,” Braun’s statement read. “Ultimately, decisions like this carry political consequences. I will be working with the President to challenge these people who do not represent the best interests of Hoosiers.
Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, said the Senate Republicans want to see a Republican majority in Congress after the 2026 midterm elections.
“The issue before us today was how to get there, and many of my caucus members don’t think redrawing our Congressional map mid-cycle is a guaranteed way for Indiana — or our country — to achieve that outcome,” Bray said.
Bray said the Senate Republican caucus supports Trump, especially on issues like immigration and public safety, and the Senate Republican caucus will present bills that work with the Trump administration on those issues.
“It’s time to turn the page. Hoosiers need leadership from their state government that will continue to improve our education system and make life more affordable for Hoosiers,” Bray said.
Mrvan said he appreciated the “courage and resolve” the Indiana Senate showed in voting against redistricting.
“Their willingness to stand by the maps adopted in 2022 reflects a clear commitment to stability, transparency, and responsible governance,” Mrvan said in a statement. “I am equally grateful to the many engaged citizens and organizations whose thoughtful outreach affirmed that the maps adopted in 2022 were both fair and defensible.”
The bill’s Senate sponsor, Sen. Mike Gaskill, R-Pendleton, used part of his closing statement to criticize the way Illinois draws its congressional districts.
“They want you to play by a different set of rules than what (they) play by,” Gaskill said forcefully.
Both last month and earlier this week, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said he and Democratic leaders who control the Illinois House and Senate were keeping an eye on what GOP leaders in Indiana were doing before deciding how to counter gerrymandering pushed by President Donald Trump in GOP-led states.
“An awful lot of people want us to consider redistricting and I have to say we’re watching what Indiana does,” Pritzker said last month after U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, leader of the Democratic minority in the House, unsuccessfully urged Illinois Democrats to act on redistricting during the fall legislative session.
Illinois Democrats hold 14 Democratic seats out of 17 districts under the post-2020 federal census map but many were worried they could endanger that success by trying to carve out a 15th district. A new redistricting plan for the 2026 midterm elections also would have faced several legal hurdles, particularly since candidates in the March 17 primary have already filed petitions to appear on the ballot.
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State Sen. Mark Spencer, D-Gary, said he voted against the bill because Hoosiers don’t want new Congressional maps. Spencer said the proposed map would’ve diluted Hoosier voices because it broke up communities of interest.
“Hoosiers deserve districts drawn with clarity, consistency and common sense. They deserve a map that reflects who they are, not one that pulls them into places they do not live, do not work and cannot be heard,” Spencer said.
State Sen. Rodney Pol Jr., D-Chesterton, said he held townhalls and heard from constituents in the First District who did not support mid-census redistricting.
“They feel like they will go from the forgotten to the forsaken,” Pol said.
State. Sen. Spencer Deery, R-West Lafayette, said he didn’t see a justification for passing new maps. While some Republicans have argued that Democrats use partisan gerrymandering as a political tool, that should’ve been considered when Indiana last completed redistricting.
“Fighting fire with fire burns the world down,” Deery said.
State Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, was heckled when she presented her position in support of the bill. Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith had the person who shouted removed from the gallery.
The Senate wouldn’t be breaking the rules or going against the Constitution if it approved new maps, Brown said.
“The only way we can bolster Republican voices is to do this,” Brown said.
State Sen. Chris Garten, R-Charlestown, said approving two more Republican seats will allow the Trump administration to continue its agenda. The Trump administration asked for Indiana’s help, and the state should respond favorably, Garten said.
“They have not asked for blind loyalty. They have asked for reinforcements,” Garten said.
State Sen. Tyler Johnson, R-Leo, said he was surprised to learn that a supermajority Republican state “left two districts on the table” when it completed redistricting in 2021.
“I think this is an opportunity to right that wrong,” Johnson said.
HB 1032 passed the House Friday in a 57-41 vote, with 12 Republicans joining all Democrats present in voting against the bill. For the Northwest Indiana House delegation, all Democrats voted against the bill and all Republicans voted in favor of the bill.
The Senate has been a significant hurdle to Indiana’s mid-census redistricting efforts after Senate leadership stated in October that the chamber didn’t have the votes to pass new maps.
Braun called for a special session to address redistricting after months of overtures by Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance. The Trump administration has asked Republican-led states to undertake mid-census redistricting to maintain the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
In response to Trump’s request, Texas conducted mid-census redistricting to give Republicans five more seats, to which California responded with voter-approved redistricting to create five more Democratic-leaning seats.
Ahead of Organization Day, Nov. 18, Bray said the Senate didn’t have the votes to pass new maps and canceled the Senate’s December session.
In response to Bray’s announcement, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, calling out Bray and Goode “for not wanting to redistrict their state, allowing the United States Congress to perhaps gain two more Republican seats.”
Hours after Trump posted his comment, Goode received a false swatting call. After Organization Day, when the Senate voted to reconvene in January, at least nine more state senators — Dan Dernulc, Spencer Deery, Rick Niemeyer, Kyle Walker, Greg Walker, Linda Rogers, Andy Zay, Ron Alting, Mike Bohacek — received swatting calls and threats.
The threats moved Bray to call the Senate into session on Dec. 8, following the Dec. 1 start of the House session.
HB 1032, authored by State Rep. Ben Smaltz, would have allowed the legislature to amend congressional districts “at a time other than the first regular session of the general assembly convening immediately following the United States decennial census.”
The bill stated that the current congressional Districts won’t expire before Nov. 3, 2026.
During a House committee hearing last week, Smaltz, R-Auburn, said Indiana took up mid-census redistricting because of that action across the country. The map was drawn by the National Republican Redistricting Trust using data from the last three presidential elections and the last two Indiana U.S. Senator, Secretary of State and attorney general elections, Smaltz said.
“These maps were drawn for political purposes and advantage,” Smaltz said.