Against the backdrop of immense pressure, primary threats from President Trump and physical threats from his supporters, Indiana Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, after much back and forth, announced that Indiana lawmakers would, in fact, convene to discuss whether to move forward with mid-cycle redistricting.
The announcement came with a caveat. He said the state Senate would reconvene as part of the regular 2026 session in order to make a “final decision” on the matter.
The reversal, yet again, comes after Bray said earlier this month that lawmakers would not convene for a special legislative session because there simply were not enough votes to approve new congressional maps that would, essentially, draw Democratic representation for Indiana out of the U.S. House. Indiana lawmakers will now meet at the beginning of next month.
“The issue of redrawing Indiana’s congressional maps mid-cycle has received a lot of attention and is causing strife here in our state. To resolve this issue, the Senate intends to reconvene as part of the regular 2026 session on Dec. 8 and make a final decision that week on any redistricting proposal sent from the House,” Bray said in a statement, referencing the redrawn maps that have sweeping support in the GOP-controlled General Assembly. “Because we will reconvene as part of the regular 2026 legislative session, we anticipate concluding our regular 2026 session by the end of February.”
The latest announcement comes after months of pressure from the Trump administration, Trump’s allies and Indiana’s Republican Gov. Mike Braun, all of whom have been threatening Indiana Republicans to comply with Trump’s redistricting demands or face political consequences. Trump has been on a rampage for months, demanding red states with Republican majorities in their state legislatures redraw congressional lines in districts currently held by Democrats to try to ensure that Republicans maintain control of the U.S. House in the 2026 midterms elections.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump reacted to the news that the Indiana state Senate will take up the matter.
“It looks like the Indiana Senate Republicans will be coming back in two weeks to take up Redistricting, a very important initiative to balance out the Democrats’ endless “Sue to Blue” and Census rigging strategy that has stolen seats from Republicans, and given them to Democrats who would not have them if they played fairly,” he said.
In that same post, Trump also explicitly threatened any Republicans who may continue to resist his unprecedented drive for mid-decade redistricting.
“I am glad to hear the Indiana House is stepping up to do the right thing, and I hope the Senate finds the Votes. If they do, I will make sure that all of those people supporting me win their Primaries, and go on to Greatness but, if they don’t, I will partner with the incredibly powerful MAGA Grassroots Republicans to elect STRONG Republicans who are ready to do what is needed to protect our Country and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
This is, of course, not the first time Trump and his allies have threatened Indiana Republicans for not getting in line.
While it still remains unclear whether there is enough support to approve the new maps, the fact that Indiana state Senate Republican leadership is reversing course again to commit to making a “final decision” on the revised maps is a boost for Trump, who has faced a series of significant setbacks in his nationwide redistricting pressure campaign in recent weeks.
Along with Indiana, the future of Texas’s gerrymandered map remains up in the air, as a final decision on the matter is now in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court, which will ultimately decide if the state’s new congressional maps can be used in the 2026 midterm elections. On Friday, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito placed a temporary hold on a lower court’s order that enjoined the use of Texas’s new gerrymandered map for the 2026 elections.
In Utah, a judge recently rejected a new congressional map that favors Republicans. And in Kansas, GOP state House Speaker Dan Hawkins announced on Election Night — a night of significant Democratic wins — that Republicans did not have enough votes for a special session on redistricting.
Welp. Frist again and nothing much to say.
Indiana do the right thing.
Vote no on redistricting to send Trump over the edge.
I find it amazing that the president is telling the world that he will make sure those people running win their primary upcoming elections.
How is that possible? Is Trump the Secretary of State of Indiana? Is he going to count the votes himself and throw out those he doesn’t like? How can that oathbreaking cancer “make sure” his candidate wins their primary? This is just like the find me 12,000 votes phone call to Kemp an Raffensperger, only worse.
You can’t spin it as a figure of speech, but they will, or a casual comment. He’s telling everyone he is picking who wins elections everywhere, and not just in the U.S. This is unconscionable and every Democrat needs to call him out on it. Repeatedly.
I suspect they’re more likely to vote “no” because they expect that the gerrymander the patient is demanding would end up more like a sui-mander. Given that Reps already hold 7 of 9 (insert gratutious Star Trek: Voyager reference here) seats in Indiana, they may end up creating more competitive districts. All those Dem voters from the current IN-1 and IN-7 have to go somewhere, ya know. And the way interim elections are shaping up so far, the results could be a spectacular GOP own-goal.
You know, like I am eagerly hoping that Texas will.
Scared shitless, he is. Thoroughly hated he is. Knows it, he does.