INDIANAPOLIS — Republican leaders in the Indiana Senate acknowledged Wednesday that they do not currently have the votes required to approve a mid‑cycle redrawing of the state’s congressional map, a key target of the national GOP ahead of the 2026 elections.
Molly Swigart, spokesperson for Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, said simply, “The votes aren’t there for redistricting.”
The effort comes as the White House and national Republican operatives press Indiana to redraw its nine congressional districts in order to net two additional GOP seats.
As The Indiana Lawyer reports:
Vice President JD Vance twice visited Indianapolis to speak with state lawmakers about redistricting: once in August and again earlier this month.
On Friday, The New York Times reported that Trump held a call urging Indiana GOP senators to redraw the state’s district maps.
According to the Indiana Capital Chronicle, Bray participated in last week’s call with the White House and called conversations with the vice president on his most recent visit “fruitful” and productive.”
“Obviously, the conversation was about redistricting,” Bray told reporters. “We talked a lot about that — pros and cons — and so, no decisions were made. But we’re going to work on that and hopefully have a decision very soon.”
Indiana House Republicans have signaled support for moving forward, but resistance in the Senate remains the main obstacle to expanding the state’s GOP delegation, which currently holds seven of Indiana’s nine U.S. House seats, with Democrats representing districts in Indianapolis and Northwest Indiana.
The governor, Mike Braun, has not committed to calling a special session and has described any remapping as “exploratory.”
Until this year, mid-decade redrawings of congressional districts were rare and politically fraught — often avoided for fear of voter backlash or legal challenges over fairness and racial representation.
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