Gov. Mike Braun is decidedly unhappy with Indiana Senate Republicans’ decision not to convene in December for redistricting.
Without the Senate’s participation, President Donald Trump’s request for Indiana to redraw its congressional map mid-decade to favor more Republican districts is impossible. Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray announced Nov. 14 that his caucus still doesn’t have the votes necessary to pass such a bill, so they will not be showing up.
Braun urged them to change their minds.
“I called for our legislators to convene to ensure Hoosiers’ voices in Washington, DC are not diluted by the Democrats’ gerrymandering,” he said in a 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.”
It’s unclear what the Indiana House, which had enough votes, will do. House Speaker Todd Huston hasn’t responded to a request for comment.
There’s been an outpouring of reaction from those opposed to the partisan redistricting effort, including U.S. Rep. André Carson, whose 7th Congressional District would have been carved up.
“Prayer, people, and partnerships power change. Hoosiers do things differently. We’re about collaboration, not division,” he said in a statement. “We’re about independent thinking — not taking orders from Washington. I want to thank Senator Bray and all the Republican and Democratic members of the Indiana Statehouse who held firm on Hoosier values. This is a win for all of us.”
It’s especially a win for groups like Indiana Conservation Voters, which has been organizing for months alongside other voter-advocacy organizations planning protests, petitions and sharing polling data showing a majority of Hoosiers are against redistricting mid-decade.
“We are grateful that Senate leaders listened to Hoosiers and closed the door on mid-decade redistricting,” executive director Megan Robertson said. “Families across our state have been clear: they want leaders focused on the real challenges they’re facing every day, not partisan power plays.”
Senate Minority Leader Andrea Hunley, D-Indianapolis, attributed this decision to that organizing.
“Over the course of over three months, Hoosiers never once relented, and now the message is clear,” she said. “We won’t be strongarmed into passing overtly racist maps that target our most diverse counties and work to silence the families who call them those counties home. I urge every Hoosier who feels like their voice doesn’t matter to remember this moment.”
On social media, some vocal proponents of redistricting, like Tanner Bouchie, who is running for the seat that Republican state Sen. Eric Bassler of Washington will vacate in 2026, reacted with extreme disappointment.
“Hoosier values are being undermined by flawed census data and Democratic schemes from other States,” Bouchie wrote. “Redistricting is the right thing to do to protect Hoosier values.”
State Rep. Andrew Ireland of Indianapolis, an early proponent, said on X that Indiana “cannot sit on the sidelines” while Democratic states draw new Democratic-favored maps.
Others promised to support primary opponents to senators who were against redistricting.
Meanwhile, multiple state Democratic lawmakers chimed in to support moving on to other issues, like the cost of living.
“At a time when the norms and customs that have held our republic together for 250 years are being tested every day ― and the resulting tension has seeped into our interactions with colleagues, friends, and family ― the news from the Senate majority is welcomed,” said Rep. Mitch Gore of Indianapolis. “I pray this is just the starter’s pistol for a marathon session aimed squarely at addressing the real issues facing my neighbors, namely that everything is more expensive and wages haven’t kept up.”
Contact IndyStar Statehouse reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on X @kayla_dwyer17.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: ‘Do the right thing’: Gov. Mike Braun, others react to Senate’s rejection of redistricting
Reporting by Kayla Dwyer, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
