Indiana state House Republicans released a draft congressional map on Monday that would give their party the edge in all nine of the state’s congressional districts.
The revised map was released just hours before the Indiana House was set to convene. Lawmakers are expected to approve it. Their move heightens pressure on Senate Republicans, who have so far resisted President Donald Trump‘s call for a more aggressively partisan redraw.
The proposed map dilutes Democrats’ strength in deep blue Indianapolis, which is currently represented by Reps. Frank Mrvan (D-IN) and Andre Carson (D-IN). The new map splits it into four different districts — the 4th, 6th, 7th, and 9th— that stretch into rural Republican areas.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who is from Louisiana, held a conference call with Indiana Republicans on Saturday, where he spoke about redistricting. Johnson purportedly made a plea to pass the map, claiming it was necessary to advance the GOP’s agenda nationally. He also fielded questions on broader issues and policies of the Trump administration, FOX59/CBS4 reported.
Republicans, who hold a supermajority in the state House chamber, are confident they can get the job done when they meet at 2 p.m. They don’t need Democrats to pass a bill or meet because only 67 GOP representatives are needed for a quorum, and it only takes a 51-person simple majority to pass legislation. There are 70 Republicans in the House.
Still, that hasn’t stopped some Democrats from trying.
State Democratic Rep. Mitch Gore attempted to convince five House Republicans not to show up on Monday. He has called on Reps. Becky Cash, Ed Clere, Dave Hall, Danny Lopez, and Hunter Smith to stay home and sit out the vote, though it’s unlikely all five will do so.
While the House is expected to make easy work out of the vote, the bigger lift will be in the state Senate, which meets on Dec. 8.
Republicans hold seven of Indiana’s nine U.S. House seats. Trump and his allies want to redraw the map to make all of the state’s congressional districts represented by Republicans. Democrats need to gain just three seats to win control of the U.S. House next year. If Democrats flip the House, they could render Trump a lame duck during his last two years in office by blocking his legislation and launching congressional investigations. That prospect has led to Trump strong-arming GOP-controlled states.
A coast-to-coast redistricting fight broke out after the president first publicly called on Texas to redraw its map to give Republicans a five-seat boost heading into the 2026 midterm elections. California countered, passing a ballot measure in November that would redraw its maps, giving Democrats the advantage in five districts. Republicans in Florida, Ohio, and Missouri followed Texas’s lead and passed maps that favor the GOP.
In Indiana, along with the House, Gov. Mike Braun (R-IN) has been a vocal advocate of mid-decade redistricting for the state. Braun announced in October that he was scheduling a special session to redraw the map after weeks of pressure from the president.
Republicans in the state Senate, including President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R-IN), have pushed back against redrawing the map, claiming there are not enough votes in the Senate to get it done. Trump has attacked Indiana’s senators on Truth Social, vowing to primary those who defect.
Since then, there have been threats and swatting attempts against lawmakers who said they do not support redistricting or have not taken a stance.
INDIANA STATE SENATOR HIT WITH PIPE BOMB THREAT AFTER REDISTRICTING OPPOSITION
Republican state Sen. Jean Leising said she received a pipe bomb threat over the weekend for opposing a new map.
“Unfortunately, my house was the target of a pipe bomb threat on Saturday evening. This is a result of the D.C. political pundits for redistricting,” Leising wrote on X. “Thanks to the Oldenburg Town Marshall, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the ISP, all is okay!”