The Indiana Statehouse — adorned with scaffolding for a roofing project — on March 28, 2025. (Niki Kelly/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Indiana’s Democratic lawmakers and concerned residents will be at the Statehouse Thursday to protest a campaign to redistrict mid-cycle.
Vice President JD Vance will be in Indiana to meet with Gov. Mike Braun and other leaders about the possibility of creating more GOP seats with redrawn congressional boundaries. This follows a tussle in Republican-held Texas over new maps — and threats from Democrat-run states to retaliate.
Braun has said he’ll listen but that no commitments have been made. Legislative leaders have declined to comment.
State lawmakers redraw districts after each decennial census, as per the Indiana Constitution. They last did so in 2021. Congressional Republicans have a 7-2 advantage.
A move in Indiana would likely focus on the First District in northwest Indiana, which is held by U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, a Democrat.
He released a lengthy statement Wednesday against the redistricting campaign.
“The Trump Administration has recognized that their harmful policies to benefit wealthy elites at the expense of working families are wildly unpopular. They know that their only hope to maintain control is to pressure the Indiana General Assembly to violate the Indiana Constitution and redistrict U.S. House of Representative seats mid-decade,” Mrvan said.
“It’s reprehensible to call in the Indiana General Assembly for a special session on redistricting when the communities I represent believe their time would be better spent to discuss initiatives that restore state funds for our local police departments,” he continued.
He and fellow Democratic U.S. Rep. André Carson will speak at a 12:30 p.m. “Winners Don’t Cheat” news conference at the Statehouse Thursday, along with several General Assembly Democrats.
Carson addressed the issue at an unrelated Wednesday event, saying, “Our voting rights are under attack like never before.”
MADVoters has also planned a Statehouse sit-in on the second floor.
“Indiana Hoosiers, All Hands on Deck,” an invitation reads. “Stand up to Gov. Braun’s gerrymandering scheme.”
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