(This story has been updated with new information.)
The Indiana Senate will not convene in December for redistricting, stopping President Donald Trump’s push to redraw the state’s congressional map in its tracks.
Senate Republicans still do not have the votes to successfully pass a bill to redistrict, as Gov. Mike Braun has called for them to do, so they will simply not try, Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray announced Nov. 14.
“Over the last several months, Senate Republicans have given very serious and thoughtful consideration to the concept of redrawing our state’s congressional maps,” he said. “Today, I’m announcing there are not enough votes to move that idea forward, and the Senate will not reconvene in December.”
Lawmakers had planned to convene during the first two weeks of December to consider redistricting, incorporating it into their 2026 regular legislative session. Without the participation of the Senate, the Indiana General Assembly can’t pass such legislation.
In response to the news, the Trump team has begun calling some Indiana lawmakers to invite them to meet with the president in the Oval Office, at a to-be-determined time and date. Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, said he fielded such a call and plans to go.
“If the president of the United States invites somebody to come to the Oval Office, in Aaron Freeman’s book, I’m going,” he said. He’s not yet made up his mind about redistricting because he said he hasn’t seen a map.
In a Nov. 14 statement, Braun expressed dismay at Senate Republicans’ decision.
“I called for our legislators to convene to ensure Hoosiers’ voices in Washington, DC are not diluted by the Democrats’ gerrymandering,” he said. “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 unusual for lawmakers not to heed a governor’s call for a special session. Freeman said he thinks it’s wrong, and said he plans to show up Dec. 1 regardless.
Trump has been waging the redistricting campaign in an effort to shore up the Republican majority in Congress ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, despite the tradition of redistricting directly after a decennial census. Indiana’s current congressional map has seven seats held by Republicans and two by Democrats; the push from the White House was to draw a new map that would favor Republicans in all nine districts.
For Indiana’s supermajority Republican legislature to reject Trump’s push is extraordinary, given Trump has found success in at least three other states where Republicans have slimmer majorities: Texas, Missouri and North Carolina. Though efforts in some other states, like Kansas and Nebraska, have stalled.
With the Indiana House Republican caucus already on board, and assuming all Democrats would vote no, the Senate Republicans needed 25 “yes” votes to make redistricting happen. There are 40 Republican senators.
Counting the vote has been a largely closed-door process, with only a portion of Republican senators ever making their position clear publicly. By IndyStar’s count, 13 senators have indicated their support for it, eight made clear their opposition, another eight hadn’t decided, and 11 said nothing. Three of the opposing senators announced their position in the past week.
There’s been a consistent pressure campaign for months, mainly from outsiders. Vice President JD Vance visited the Indiana Statehouse twice to hold private conversations. Voters in some senate districts have received phone calls or texts from little-known 501c4 organizations. D.C.-based advocacy organization Club for Growth bought television ads in the Indianapolis market this week; a new group called Fair Maps Indiana, featuring former Trump campaign veterans, also launched a voter outreach campaign.
U.S. Rep. André Carson, whose 7th Congressional District would have been carved up, attributed this decision to Indiana’s traditionally independent streak.
“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 unclear whether the Indiana House will still convene Dec. 1. House Speaker Todd Huston did not immediately return a request for comment. Organization Day, the ceremonial beginning of the 2026 legislative session, is on Nov. 18.
Contact IndyStar Statehouse reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on X@kayla_dwyer17.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Senate won’t meet to redistrict, stopping Trump’s Indiana push. Here’s why
Reporting by Kayla Dwyer, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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