Gov. Mike Braun gave the strongest indication yet that a special session to redraw Indiana’s congressional maps is likely inevitable.
He won’t call the special session without knowing that enough legislators would vote to approve redistricting, he reiterated to reporters Sept. 16. But his prediction is that things are heading in that direction, and if it does, the session could occur anytime from early November through the “earliest part” of the 2026 regular session, he said.
“We’re going to poll our legislators, and if it’s there, we’re going to do it,” he said. “My feeling is it probably will happen.”
Gov. Mike Braun speaks to a crowd Tuesday, July 29, 2025, during a press conference at Kenworth of Indianapolis.
Speaking to reporters following his announcement of a new workforce training grant initiative, Braun noted the multiple legislators who have changed their minds publicly on the issue, from opposed to in favor. The White House and allies have been applying pressure since early last month, both in the form of a visit to Indiana from Vice President JD Vance and a calling and texting campaign from a little-known 501c4 supporting President Donald Trump’s redistricting push. He wants to shore up the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives ahead of the midterm elections.
Seven of Indiana’s nine congressional seats are held by Republicans, but lawmakers could redraw the maps to give Republicans one or two more seats.
Both the Indiana House and Senate GOP caucuses met last week to continue discussing redistricting.
Braun also suggested for the first time that “other issues” could come up if he calls a special session.
Asked what those could be, Braun said he won’t say, except he offered one possibility: Passing legislation to align Indiana law more with Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill “so that we can take benefits of what changed in the big bill.” He didn’t say what aspects of the bill Indiana lawmakers could seek to “dovetail.”
State Rep. Ed Delaney, D-Indianapolis, took Braun’s comments to mean that he doesn’t currently have enough votes to call a traditional special session to focus solely on the effort to, as he puts it, “shoplift congressional seats.”
“Instead he’s going to try to find some way to blend this difficult topic of redistricting with our regular business,” he said. “We’ll wait and see. In November, I’ll be here.”
By law, the regular session in an odd-numbered year convenes ceremoniously in late November, gavels out for the holidays and reconvenes no later than the fourth Monday in January.
While Braun thinks things are moving in a redistricting direction, he said he wants the decision to be “organic.”
“This is going to have its own evolution,” he said. “Stay tuned. I want it to happen to where the leaders and the legislators feel comfortable with it.”
Democrats, meanwhile, plan to hold a rally opposing redistricting at the Statehouse on Sept. 18, along with former transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Redistricting: What Northwest Indiana voters, a target for redistricting, think about President Trump’s push
Contact IndyStar Statehouse reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on X @kayla_dwyer17.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Gov. Mike Braun on Indiana redistricting: ‘It probably will happen’
