Indiana governor meets Indiana Republicans again on redistricting GOP-led state

Vice President JD Vance visited Republican state lawmakers in Indianapolis on Friday as the White House continues to press the state on redistricting to give the GOP an advantage in next year’s elections.

Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Braun confirmed he met with Vance, marking at least the second in-person discussion on the push to re-draw congressional boundaries in the conservative state. Braun didn’t offer details but said in a social media post the two discussed “the importance of ensuring fair representation for every Hoosier.”

Indiana lawmakers have been far more hesitant to redraw the state’s congressional boundaries than other Republican-led states that swiftly met President Donald Trump’s push to try to hold on to a narrow Republican majority in next year’s congressional election. Indiana is known for its less aggressive approach to partisan politics but GOP leaders remain under pressure to fall in line.

Vance’s visit is at least the third time he has talked to Indiana Republican lawmakers about the possibility. He met privately with Braun and legislative leaders in Indianapolis in August to discuss the subject.

Trump met privately with state House Speaker Todd Huston and state Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray in the Oval Office weeks later. Vance also spoke to state lawmakers who were visiting Washington, D.C., that day.

U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, a Republican, accompanied Vance on Friday’s visit. Banks is among the strongest GOP backers for Indiana redrawing its lines, telling Politico recently that the state should have nine Republican congressional representatives and zero Democrats.

Republicans already outnumber Democrats in Indiana’s congressional delegation 7-2.

Typically, states redo their congressional boundaries every 10 years with the census in a process called redistricting. But Trump has recruited Republican governors to draw up new congressional districts in an attempt to give the party an easier path to maintaining control of the House in the midterms next year. Texas and Missouri have enacted new districts as Democrats in California are seeking voter approval to add as many as five Democrat-held seats in Congress.

Indiana’s Legislative leaders have been largely mum on the topic.

Bray said Friday that Senate Republicans discussed the “pros and cons” of redistricting with Vance.

“No decision has been made but we’re going to work on that and hopefully have a decision very soon,” he said in a video posted to X by an IndyStar reporter.

The vice president’s visit to Indianapolis comes three weeks after former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, rallied against redistricting in Indiana, a state Trump won by 19 percentage points in 2024. On social media Friday, Buttigieg — who is the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana — said Indiana lawmakers have been slow to act because they “are ashamed of what Donald Trump and JD Vance are asking them to do.”

Braun, a Republican and strong ally of Trump, has previously said that redistricting will likely happen. He hasn’t called a special session yet, though, saying he wants to be sure lawmakers are behind a new map. Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers.

The GOP would likely target Indiana’s 1st Congressional District, a longtime Democratic stronghold that encompasses Gary and other cities near Chicago in the state’s northwest corner. The seat held by third-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan has been seen by Republicans as a possible pickup in recent elections.

Republicans could also zero in on Indiana’s 7th Congressional District, composed entirely of Marion County and the Democratic stronghold of Indianapolis. But that option would be more controversial, potentially slicing up the state’s largest city and diluting Black voters’ influence.

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Associated Press video journalist Obed Lamy in Indianapolis contributed to this report.