Indiana House passes new Republican-drawn congressional map


The Indiana House on Friday approved a new congressional map designed to net Republicans two seats, setting up a clash over the redistricting effort pushed by President Donald Trump in the state Senate.

The bill passed the state House, 57-41. But Republican leaders in the Indiana Senate have said there is not enough support for the map, which is designed to give the GOP control of all nine of the state’s congressional districts. But the White House has pressured reluctant Indiana lawmakers for months to redraw their map as Trump seeks to shore up his party’s narrow U.S. House majority ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

The fight has been divisive, leading to primary challenge threats and violent harassment against Republican lawmakers who oppose the new map. At least 11 elected Republicans in Indiana have been the victim of “swatting” attempts, which is when false police reports are made in an effort to draw an alarming law enforcement response, and other threats.

Reps. André Carson and Frank Mrvan are currently the lone Democrats representing Indiana in Congress. The Republican-drawn map would break up their districts. It proposes splitting Indianapolis into four districts, diluting the state’s Democratic vote hub, and dividing the Democratic-leaning northwestern part of the state into two districts.

The map was drawn with politics first in mind, said Rep. Ben Smaltz, the Republican who introduced the legislation. He said it was drawn by the National Republican Redistricting Trust, a group that also drew Texas’ new map. Asked by a Democratic colleague if public funds were spent to draw the map, Smaltz said he did not know who had paid for national group to draw the map.

The map passed the state House after more than three hours of remarks and condemnation from Democrats.

“This is a direct attack on the system, but more importantly, it’s a blatant tell that you don’t care what Hoosiers want,” said state House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta.

Democratic state Rep. Matt Pierce slammed Republicans for attempting to draw Democrats completely out of the state’s congressional delegation and conducting a rushed, unusual redistricting process.

“Imagine having to be a member of Congress, and when considering issues, having to represent communities in the middle of Indianapolis and communities in the rural areas down along the river, that’s a really hard thing to do,” he said.

While state House Speaker Todd Huston made brief remarks in support of the map, Smaltz was the only other Republican who spoke in defense of it on Friday.

“While the census anchors the process, nothing in the law prevents a legislature from revisiting maps when circumstances demand it,” he said.

Demonstrators rally against redistricting on Sept. 18, 2025, inside the Indiana Statehouse.
Indiana Republicans’ redistricting push has drawn protests at the Statehouse.Mykal McEldowney / USA Today Network via Imagn

Indiana is just the latest state to enter the unusually aggressive mid-decade redistricting push at Trump’s behest. Republicans received a boost Thursday when the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Texas to use its new map, which could lead to the party netting up to five seats, in the 2026 elections.

California followed suit with a Democratic-drawn map that aims to cancel out any GOP gains in Texas that voters approved last month.

Republicans in Missouri and North Carolina have enacted new maps that could give the party an additional House seat in each state. Ohio lawmakers passed new district lines that may give Republicans a slight boost, while a court-ordered map in Utah will likely lead to a one-seat gain for Democrats.

Elsewhere, Republicans in Florida and Democrats in Virginia have taken initial steps toward redrawing their maps, efforts that will stretch into next year.



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