Indiana state senators are expected to cast a decisive vote Thursday on a redrawn congressional map after months of pressure by President Donald Trump for a rare mid-cycle redistricting, however the outcome in the Republican-controlled chamber is still uncertain.
Trump has urged GOP-led states to gerrymander their U.S. house districts ahead of the 2026 elections to create more winnable seats for Republicans. It's an unusual move, since the district boundaries
are usually adjusted based on the census every 10 years.
The president on Wednesday again criticized Republican Senators in Indiana who are resisting the plan, and repeated his threat to back primary challengers against them.
“If Republicans will not do what is necessary to save our Country, they will eventually lose everything to the Democrats,” Trump wrote on social media. Some Indiana lawmakers have also received violent threats during the debate over the last month.
The new map is designed to give Republicans control of all nine of Indiana’s congressional seats, up from the seven they currently hold. It would effectively erase Indiana’s two Democrat-held districts by splitting Indianapolis into four districts that extend into rural areas, reshaping U.S. Rep. André Carson’s safe district in the city. It would also eliminate the northwest Indiana district held by U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan.
Republicans nationwide have been pushing for redistricting in states they control, since midterms tend to favor the party opposite the one in power. Democrats are increasingly liking their odds at flipping control the U.S. House after the results of recent high-profile elections.
Despite Trump’s push, support for gerrymandering in Indiana's Senate is uncertain. A dozen of the 50 state senators have not publicly committed to a stance. If at least four Republicans align with all of the chamber’s 10 Democrats plus the 12 Republicans expected to vote no, the measure would fail — a sharp rebuke to Trump. The bill needs 25 votes for passage, and a tie would be broken by Republican Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, who favors redistricting.
The bill cleared its first hurdle Monday with a 6-3 Senate committee vote, although one Republican joined Democrats in opposing it and a few others signaled they may vote against the final version. The state House passed the proposal last week, with 12 Republicans siding with Democrats in opposition.
Nationally, mid-cycle redistricting so far has resulted in nine more congressional seats that Republicans believe they can win and six more congressional seats that Democrats think they can win. However, redistricting is being litigated in several states.
Texas, Missouri, Ohio and North Carolina quickly enacted new GOP-favorable maps, while California voters approved a new congressional map favorable to Democrats in response to Texas. In Utah, a judge imposed new districts that could allow Democrats to win a seat, after ruling that Republican lawmakers violated voter-backed standards against gerrymandering.
Alongside warnings from the president, conservative groups are also increasing pressure in Indiana. Multiple organizations have warned Republican senators that a vote against the map could trigger well-funded primary challenges. Turning Point Action pledged what it described as “congressional-level spending” to defeat GOP lawmakers who oppose the measure.
However, only half of the state Senate is up for reelection in 2026.
