Republican Indiana governor calls special session to redraw congressional maps

Indiana governor Mike Braun announced Monday that he is calling a special session to consider redrawing congressional districts in the state, the latest state to work on its maps ahead of 2026.

Indiana is one of several Republican-led states that the Trump administration has put pressure on to undertake mid-decade redistricting to favor Republicans, which began with a push in Texas to redraw lines to add Republican seats.

California is considering a ballot measure to redraw its lines to favor Democrats, a move initiated in response to Texas. Virginia’s Democratic House speaker, Don Scott, also said last week that the state will hold a special session to redistrict to benefit Democrats, potentially adding two or three Democratic seats. Several other states, including Indiana and North Carolina, have now launched redistricting efforts to benefit Republicans.

“I am calling a special legislative session to protect Hoosiers from efforts in other states that seek to diminish their voice in Washington and ensure their representation in Congress is fair,” Braun said in a statement this morning.

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Republican state lawmakers in some states, including Indiana and Kansas, have pushed back on the idea of redistricting. But Braun has said, if the state doesn’t redraw its maps, “probably, we’ll have consequences of not working with the Trump administration as tightly as we should.”

John Bisognano, president of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, highlighted the opposition in a statement Monday.

“Between the overwhelming opposition from Hoosiers and the relentless pressure from Washington – including but not limited to vice-President Vance taking two taxpayer-funded trips to the state, threats to cut federal funding, and phone calls from President Trump – Governor Braun clearly called this special session solely because he got orders from Washington,” he said. “Hoosiers do not want a mid-decade gerrymander.”

Also on Monday, House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries is reportedly headed to Illinois to meet with local leaders about redrawing the congressional maps. Jeffries will meet with the Illinois legislative Black caucus and Black members of Congress, a nod to the fact that Black lawmakers will be needed to pass a new map, according to Punchbowl News.

Last week, the Illinois senate Black caucus warned that it wouldn’t support a new map if it dilutes the Black voting population, Punchbowl noted. There are three historically Black districts among Illinois’s 17 congressional seats. Only three of the state’s seats are held by Republicans.