Trump's redistricting push meets local GOP resistance in Indiana
Several GOP state lawmakers have come out against the effort, expressing concern about the precedent it could set for the future and possible backlash against the party. With Republican supermajorities dominating both chambers of the state Legislature, stopping the effort would require a significant number of Republicans to oppose it and ignore the Trump administration's call for it.
But Indiana is already appearing to be a rare exception to most other GOP-led states much more enthusiastic about redistricting.
'I have tremendous respect for President Trump and love what he's doing,' said state Sen. Jim Lucas (R), who is one of a few on record against redistricting. 'But for Hoosiers, Indiana Republicans, to abandon their principles and basically take away the rules, that sets such a dangerous precedent moving forward and for our children.'
'What kind of political structure are we leaving for our children in the future if we all of a sudden, just because we can, decide to redistrict midcycle?' he said.
Republicans appear to hold the advantage nationally in the redistricting battle. Though California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is moving forward with his own effort to rewrite his state's lines, the GOP, for multiple structural and practical reasons, has more realistic opportunities to add seats ahead of 2026.
Texas Republicans seem likely to approve a new map shortly, while GOP leaders in Florida, Ohio and Missouri have shown a clear interest in trying to add seats to pad the party's House majority in 2026.
But Indiana has been a question mark, with several Republicans preemptively releasing statements against updating the state's map. Republicans currently occupy seven of the state's nine seats in the U.S. House.
Redrawn lines would likely have the biggest impact on Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan, who represents the 1st Congressional District in the northwest and has already been named a national GOP target for 2026.
'It is no surprise that some believe redistricting is the only option to cling to power when they know the American people are rejecting the damage done by the House Republican Majority,' Mrvan said in a statement amid the speculation.
But the political will may not be as strong in the Hoosier State as it appears to be in others.
Along with Lucas, several other Republicans in the state Legislature said they don't support the redistricting effort, including state Reps. Danny Lopez and Craig Haggard, and state Sens. Jim Tomes and Spencer Deery.
Lucas expressed concern that the move would damage the party's credibility, and he said he's received a lot of positive feedback from constituents in favor of standing on principle.
'There are some outliers … that think, 'Hey, we need to take the gloves off and do what the Democrats would be doing to us,' but I want to think we're better than that,' he said. 'I have faith in our policy and our principles and our ideology.'
The positions of state legislators could be influential in whether Gov. Mike Braun (R) calls a special session to address redistricting. He has said he is 'considering it seriously' but would look to the results of Texas's efforts and the feelings of Indiana state lawmakers.
With Republicans controlling 70 out of 100 seats in the state House and 40 out of 50 seats in the state Senate, many more Republicans would need to be opposed to redrawing the map to have enough votes, along with all Democrats, to block any change.
But more Republican opposition might come out, said Republican strategist Pete Seat, a former communications director for the state GOP.
'We take great pride in how we draw our maps, and there's a lot of thought and effort that goes into it, into maintaining communities of interest and drawing districts that are compact,' Seat said. 'There are some states that come at it — despite what they might say — from a political perspective and trying to draw lines that achieve a political endgame, whereas we try to draw what makes sense and what keeps people with similar interests together.'
'What I've been hearing from the moment this conversation started is a lack of desire to go forward with re-redistricting, as I like to call it, for that reason, and for the reason that it's a lot of political capital to spend on one additional seat,' he added.
Democrats said they appreciated the Republicans who have come out against redistricting and hope they can rally support to prevent any mid-decade change from occurring.
State Senate Minority Leader Shelli Yoder (D) said the pushback has been bipartisan and represents Indiana's nature as being independent-minded.
'We are independent thinkers, and we can see this cheating behavior a mile away. So whether you are [a Republican, Democrat or independent] or go back and forth because you vote for the person, Hoosiers see this as a cheating agenda, as a cheating move,' Yoder said, adding that these Republicans recognize 'this isn't how we do things in Indiana, and we're going to do by right by the voters.'
But even if the political will in Indiana is lacking, the push on the national level for the state to go forward is much stronger, with pressure appearing likely to build from the White House.
Vice President Vance visited Indiana earlier this month for a private meeting with Braun and state legislative leaders as chatter built about redistricting possibilities.
A source familiar with conversations between the White House and state leadership said they expect the state will ultimately go forward with redistricting with the urging from the president. They said the pressure from the administration will 'intensify' as time goes on, and they don't expect Braun, a Trump ally, to ignore it.
'There's certainly confidence that once the president really makes the case and leans into it, that you could convince and/or flip lawmakers to be supportive of the effort,' they said.
The Hill has reached out to the White House and Braun's office for comment about the opposition to redistricting among the handful of Republicans.
One key moment may be a meeting set to take place next Tuesday in which the White House invited all Republican Indiana state legislators to visit. The meeting was scheduled weeks prior, before Vance's visit, to discuss various issues, but Republicans said they could imagine the redistricting issue coming up.
In another sign of the pressure mounting on GOP holdouts, Indiana's entire Republican delegation in the U.S. House released statements Monday declaring their support for the redistricting effort, saying it's necessary to overcome gerrymandering in Democratic-led states, while Sen. Todd Young (R) has previously raised some doubts about the idea.
Meanwhile, some voters have received robocalls urging them to back redistricting to support Trump.
Seat said he believes the calls are having the opposite effect, strengthening opposition to redistricting. But the source familiar with the White House's conversations said they don't see this letting up.
'In the conversations I've had with the White House, I don't see this slowing down at any point,' they said.
If legislators and the governor say the political will isn't present to do this, 'I don't think the White House is going to consider that to be an acceptable answer,' they said.
Julia Mueller contributed.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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