Indiana Senate lacks votes for mid-cycle redistricting, cancels December special session

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Lacking the votes to move forward with mid-cycle redistricting, the Indiana Senate will not reconvene in December.

"Over the last several months, Senate Republicans have given very serious and thoughtful consideration to the concept of redrawing our state's congressional maps. Today, I'm announcing there are not enough votes to move that idea forward, and the Senate will not reconvene in December," Sen. Rodric Bray, Senate President Pro Tem, said in a statement.

Last month, Gov. Mike Braun called for a special session which was to begin Nov. 3 to redraw congressional boundaries amid mounting pressure from the White House.

“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 at the time.

While Indiana Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have pressed state lawmakers to redraw U.S. House districts to try to expand Republicans' current 7-2 edge over Democrats in the Hoosier state.

Braun's plan would redraw the state's nine congressional districts, focusing on two districts long targeted by Republicans, Districts 1 and 7 — both held by Democrats. The current congressional maps, completed in 2021, had already compressed Districts 1 and 7 in size.

"I called for our legislators to convene to ensure Hoosiers' voices in Washington, D.C. are not diluted by the Democrats' gerrymandering," Braun said in a statement Friday in response to the lack of votes among Senate Republicans. "Our state senators need to do the right thing and show up to vote for fair maps. Hoosiers deserve to know where their elected officials stand on important issues."

Less than a week before Braun called for the special session, Bray said Senate Republicans lacked the votes to pass a new congressional map.

"The votes aren't there for redistricting," a spokesperson for the senator said at the time.

When Braun called for the special session, Bray said the votes were still lacking — casting doubt on whether a special session could achieve the governor's goals.

With just 10 Democrats in the 50-member Senate, that means more than a dozen of the 40 Republicans opposed the idea. Some Republican state lawmakers warned that midcycle redistricting can be costly and could backfire politically. Opponents were expected to challenge any new maps in court.

Typically, states redraw boundaries of congressional districts every 10 years after the census has concluded.

When Indiana Republicans adopted the existing boundaries four years ago, Bray said they would “serve Hoosiers well for the next decade.”

Braun defended his call to revisit Indiana's congressional districts during a visit to New Albany last month, where protesters rallied against possible changes with chants of "no redistricting!"

The governor said the push for new congressional lines was meant to "level the playing field."

“You take our closest direct comparison — Massachusetts, same population,” Braun said during the visit. “They’ve gerrymandered that into where there hasn’t been a Republican congressional holder in a long, long time. You take the six bluest states that have almost triple the electoral votes of the six red states — they’ve only got maybe one or two Republican districts.”

As questions remained about whether there was enough support among Indiana Senate Republicans to make that happen, Braun said some were "keeping it private."

“All I can tell you, there’s been a cascade among their caucus to say otherwise,” Braun said. “Once I said we were going to have a public discussion on it, you saw how many became public — and there are a lot of others keeping it private.”

The state's special session did not start Nov. 3, as lawmakers worked to determine scheduling availability for the session. Senate Republicans later said the session would start during the first week of December and last two weeks.

After Bray's announcement Friday that the Senate would not reconvene next month, Senate Minority Leader Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, said the effort to redraw the state's congressional districts "should have never been considered."

"Not while families across our state are struggling to afford groceries, child care, health care and energy bills," Yoder said in a statement. "Now that this reckless idea has collapsed, our focus can return to where it should have been all along. Hoosiers. Their budgets. Their safety. Their health. Their future."

The Indiana Senate now plans to reconvene Jan. 5 for its 2026 Legislative session.

This story may be updated.

Previous Coverage:

Indiana Gov. Braun defends redistricting as protesters gather in New Albany

Indiana's special session to revisit congressional maps likely won't start Monday

Indiana lawmakers prepare for special session to revisit congressional districts

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun calls a special session to redraw congressional maps

Indiana Republicans lack votes to pass new congressional map