The White House is urging Indiana and other Republican-led states to revisit their congressional maps — an unusual mid-decade move that could reshape political power in key districts.
Republicans say new maps would help solidify their control of Congress. Critics, including Democrats, argue it’s a strategy to maintain power despite policies they believe are unpopular.
Republicans in Indiana currently hold seven of the state’s nine congressional seats. Democrats represent northwest Indiana and the Indianapolis-based central district.
If maps are redrawn, the changes could alter which districts voters belong to, who represents them and the state’s political trajectory for years to come.
“This is a spiral that threatens the health of democracy,” said Gregory Shufeldt, a political scientist at the University of Indianapolis.
What’s happening, and why now?
Redistricting usually happens once a decade, after the U.S. census. This time, though, the fight is unfolding mid-cycle — an unprecedented push led by former President Donald Trump to lock in more Republican seats for future elections.
Indiana Republicans were among those summoned to the White House. Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, who attended, called the meeting “extremely productive.” Redistricting was raised, he said, but “the bulk of the afternoon” focused on other issues.
Political scientists say the timing is no coincidence. The president’s party often loses ground in the midterms, and Republicans currently hold only a slim majority in the U.S. House.
“This is unprecedented,” said Laura Merrifield Wilson, a political scientist at the University of Indianapolis. “The goal is to create districts that favor Republicans and reduce Democrats’ chances in competitive areas.”
To redraw districts in Indiana, Gov. Mike Braun would need to call a special session. On Aug. 27, he said, “This needs to be a slower process, rather than one we rush into,” during an interview.
Unlike Texas, where Democrats fled the state to block redistricting by denying quorum, Indiana Republicans hold a supermajority — meaning they can pass new maps without a single Democrat present.
Which districts could be affected?
Political experts say the biggest shake-up could happen in the 1st Congressional District in the state’s northwest corner, held by third-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan. Any adjustment there could ripple south into the 2nd and 4th Districts, which include fast-growing communities around Indianapolis.
The 4th District covers all of Tippecanoe, Clinton, Boone, Hendricks and Morgan counties. U.S. Rep. André Carson has held the seat for nine terms.
“I don't want Democrats to despair,” Carson said at a protest against redistricting at the Indiana Statehouse on Aug. 26. “I don't want whatever you identify yourself as.”
“We need you on the battlefield because the fight is ours to win.”
But any redistricting in one district will affect another, and could have a domino effect throughout the state.
“Whenever we're talking about redrawing one district boundary, invariably you're going to at least impact two, because we're not expanding our state boundaries,” Wilson said. “So cutting into or taking out of one district will impact the other.”
What are the arguments for and against?
Because the redistricting in Indiana and other states would largely favor Republicans, Democrats are pushing back against the move — arguing it is a move by the GOP to “steal the midterm election,” according to one Democratic lawmaker in Texas.
“Not a single Hoosier Republican called for this special session on redistricting until Vice President JD Vance barged in,” said State Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis), at a press conference in Chicago with Texas House Democrats, who have pushed against redistricting in their own state.
Republicans say redistricting now could help secure their slim House majority. Some argue it is a necessary political strategy to stay competitive nationally.
"Democrats haven’t won the support of everyday Hoosier voters for more than a decade, and they have no business representing us in Washington," state Rep. Andrew Ireland (R-Indianapolis) wrote on X.
“This is a knife fight for democracy, and we have to get in there and we have to fight hard,” said State Rep. Matt Pierce, a Democrat from Bloomington.
“If that means trying to counterbalance these illegitimate moves on the part of Republicans to try and redraw these maps in the middle of the decade, then we have to try to counterbalance that.”
And a new poll suggests most Hoosiers don’t support redistricting this year. The survey, conducted Aug. 18–21 by the left-leaning firm Change Research for Count US IN, a nonpartisan Indiana nonprofit that works to increase diverse voter turnout, asked 1,662 registered voters about the issue. Just 34% said they supported redrawing Indiana’s congressional maps, while 52% opposed it — including 43% who said they were “very opposed.”
For experts like Gregory Shufeldt, the University of Indianapolis professor, this move to redistrict states outside of the current structure threatens the basic health of democracy.
“I think it has the potential to lead some states even more on a race to the bottom, toward a more authoritarian or autocratic type of government,” he said.
If states keep redrawing maps strictly to benefit one party, he said, voters could see fewer competitive races — which could make people less likely to get involved, or even to vote at all.
“If the very act of drawing lines becomes a way of protecting the majority, then democracy really only works if you happen to live in that majority,” Shufeldt said, arguing this could chip away at trust in elected officials and even drive people to move to states where their preferred party holds power.
“Then at least half of us — sometimes more — are left extremely disappointed with the outcome and may not even trust the legitimacy of the election we just lost.”
Farrah Anderson is an investigative health reporter with WFYI and Side Effects Public Media. You can follow her on X at @farrahsoa or by email at fanderson@wfyi.org.