INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg rallied Democrats against redistricting in his home state of Indiana Thursday as pressure grows on Republican state lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional districts.
Buttigieg — a contender to represent Democrats aiming to win back the presidency in 2028 — was the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, before he launched into the national political scene by running for president in 2020 and emerged victorious from the Iowa caucus that year.
Indiana Republicans have been hesitant to redistrict so far compared to other states where the GOP holds control. But Democrats have little power to stop the move if Republican leaders choose to create a new map.
“Indiana Republicans are being pressured by Washington Republicans to do something that they know in their hearts is wrong,” Buttigieg said.
Typically, states redraw their congressional districts every 10 years with the census. But President Donald Trump wants to give his party an advantage in the 2026 election in order to keep majority control in the House of Representatives, as midterms tend to favor the party out of power. Republicans in Texas and Missouri have moved to create advantageous new seats while California Democrats have countered with their own new proposal.
Indiana lawmakers however have not yet answered the redistricting call and have kept their cards close, emblematic of the state’s independent streak and its more measured approach to politics.
But pressure from Trump to redraw House districts has been mounting on Republicans in the state he won by 19 percentage points in 2024. First-term Gov. Mike Braun, a Republican, said Tuesday that a legislative session on redistricting probably will happen, and it could come as soon as November. But he doesn’t want to call a special session unless there will be a successful outcome.
“I’ve been very clear. I want it to be organic,” he said in a video reported by WRTV in Indianapolis.
A large crowd gathered inside the statehouse in Indianapolis Thursday afternoon to see Buttigieg speak.
“It’s an issue of fairness,” said Judy Jessup, an Indianapolis resident. “The voters should get to choose politicians, not the other way around.”
Buttigieg is the biggest Democratic voice to come out of Indiana in recent memory. Following the 2020 election, Buttigieg and his family moved to Traverse City, Michigan, and he served as Secretary of Transportation under the Biden administration.
In an excerpt from her upcoming memoir, Kamala Harris said that Buttigieg was her first pick for 2024 running mate, but she said running with Buttigieg, who is openly gay, was too risky. He didn’t address the comments on Thursday.
Braun could call a special session, but it would be up to lawmakers to create a new map. Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers in Indiana, meaning Democrats could not stop or delay a special session by refusing to attend, like their peers in Texas briefly did. Republicans also outnumber Democrats in Indiana’s congressional delegation 7-2. Some Republicans see an opportunity to gain all nine seats in the state.
The GOP would likely target Indiana’s 1st Congressional District, a Democratic stronghold encompassing Gary and other cities near Chicago. Three-term Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan won reelection in 2022 and easily retained the seat in 2024 even after Republicans redrew the district to be slightly more favorable to the GOP.
Republicans could also zero in on the 7th Congressional District, composed entirely of Marion County and the Democratic stronghold of Indianapolis, but they would invite more controversy by slicing up Indiana’s largest city and diluting Black voters’ influence.
“Both of those districts are filled with Black voters,” state Sen. Andrea Hunley, who represents Indianapolis, said at the rally. “This is a racist power grab to silence voters who look like me.”
Texas passed a new map that would help Republicans win up to five new seats, and Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, is expected to sign legislation soon that would help Republicans win seven of the state’s eight districts. Meanwhile, California Democrats are launching a campaign to build support ahead of a Nov. 4 referendum on new U.S. House districts that were made to offset wins made by Texas Republicans.
Utah and Ohio may soon have new congressional district maps, and elected leaders in other states also are considering mid-decade redistricting, including Republicans in Florida and Kansas and Democrats in Maryland and New York.
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Volmert reported from Lansing, Michigan.
