Indiana senators will not reconvene in early December to discuss redistricting amid pressure from Washington to shore up Republican seats in the 2026 midterm elections.
Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, R-37, announced Friday afternoon the Senate reversed course after scheduling a December session earlier this month.
“Over the last several months, Senate Republicans have given very serious and thoughtful consideration to the concept of redrawing our state’s congressional maps,” Bray said in a statement. “Today, I’m announcing there are not enough votes to move that idea forward, and the Senate will not reconvene in December.”
President Donald Trump and his cabinet launched a campaign over the summer to redistrict several majority-GOP states to help Republicans win seats in next year’s midterm elections. Trump spoke personally with members of Indiana’s Republican Party as recently as Oct. 17, urging them to push forward plans that would eliminate Democratic congressional seats in the state.
Vice President JD Vance paid a personal visit to the Indiana Statehouse on Oct. 10, attempting to convince holdout senators to support the proposed redistricting.
Senate leadership had previously said they didn’t have the votes to go forward with redistricting. The GOP currently holds a 7-2 majority in Indiana’s nine districts, but some proposed plans would have split up districts traditionally held by Democrats, eliminating one or both seats.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun decried the Senate’s decision to reject redistricting in a statement released by his office.
“I called for our legislators to convene to ensure Hoosiers’ voices in Washington, DC are not diluted by the democrats’ gerrymandering,” Braun said in the statement. “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.”
Indiana Senate Minority Leader Shelli Yoder, D-40, released a statement in support of the decision, criticizing Trump and national officials’ campaign to redistrict.
“Let’s be very clear about why we were even here. Washington insiders pressured the Governor to rig Indiana’s congressional maps in the middle of a decade for one reason,” Yoder said in a statement. “They were afraid of voters. They were afraid of losing power the honest way.”
