Indiana House Republicans released a draft map Monday outlining a proposal for redrawing the state’s congressional districts.
Senate Democrats filed a bill the same day that would make mid-decade redistricting illegal, except for when a court orders a redraw over constitutional violations.
Monday marked the start of the state legislature’s mid-decade redistricting efforts, which could flip up to two seats held by Democrats in the U.S. House in the 2026 midterms. Indiana Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray announced Nov. 25 that his chamber will convene early Dec. 8 after previously refusing calls to convene for redistricting.
The proposed map splits Marion County, which houses Indianapolis, into four different districts stretching into Republican counties along the borders of both Ohio and Kentucky. If passed, this would eliminate the current 7th Congressional District held by Representative André Carson.
“So, you can live in two different parts of Indianapolis, and one will take you down practically to Louisville, to the river, and then another will take you over towards Cincinnati,” Indiana House Rep. Matt Pierce, a Democrat who represents Bloomington, said in a voicemail message to the Indiana Daily Student.
The map would also split the current 1st District, made up of areas around the Lake Michigan shoreline, held by Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan.
Pierce has opposed early redistricting since discussions started earlier this year. He said he thinks the new map is “incredibly partisan and really out of control.”
“It's destroying what are called communities of interest, which is ensuring that districts put people together that have similar concerns and similar ideas,” Pierce said. “And then finally, it completely dilutes the voting power of African American voters within Marion County.”
President Donald Trump has been calling for redistricting in Indiana and other states for months to improve the Republican party’s slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. In a Nov. 16 post to Truth Social, Trump criticized Indiana Gov. Mike Braun and Indiana Senate Republicans for allegedly not supporting redistricting efforts.
Other members of the Trump administration have also put pressure on the legislature to redistrict. Vice President JD Vance visited Indiana in both August and October to meet with lawmakers.
An hour after Republican lawmakers announced the proposed redistricting map, Democratic Indiana Sen. Fady Qaddoura, who represents Indianapolis, held a news conference at the Statehouse to announce a bill to ban redistricting in between the release of new census data. Qaddoura filed the bill immediately after announcing it.
In the weeks since Trump pressured state lawmakers and Gov. Braun, at least 11 Indiana Republicans have been swatted or threatened. Republican state Sen. Mike Bohacek, representing Michiana Shores, said in a statement Monday that he received a bomb threat on Nov. 28. He received the threat the same day he condemned President Trump’s use of a slur for those with intellectual disabilities in a Thanksgiving post to Truth Social.
The state Senate is expected to meet next week.
