JD Vance to visit Indiana amid push for redistricting. Will Braun call special session?
Braun didn't rule out calling a special session to redraw the Hoosier State's congressional districts in an attempt to squeeze in another Republican seat ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Republicans already hold seven of Indiana's nine U.S. House seats, but Braun's comments come as the Trump administration has encouraged other states to take up mid-decade redistricting to help maintain a GOP majority in the House after next year's elections.
The redistricting process is already underway in Republican-led Texas where new congressional maps would give the GOP in that state five additional U.S. House seats. The effort resulted in Texas Democrats fleeing to Illinois on Aug. 3 to disrupt legislative procedures.
What would it take to redistrict in Indiana?
Braun would have to call a special session for the Indiana General Assembly if Republicans decide they want to redraw Hoosier congressional maps.
House Speaker Todd Huston and Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, both Republicans, have not responded to IndyStar questions through spokespeople about whether Trump has contacted them or if they have an appetite to draft new maps.
It's likely U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan's 1st District seat in Northwest Indiana would be a signature focus of any redistricting efforts at the Statehouse, although some national outlets have reported longtime Indianapolis U.S. Rep. Andre Carson's 7th District seat could be targeted as well.
National Republicans have targeted Mrvan's seat as a flip opportunity for the last two election cycles and are poised to again in 2026, especially as Northwest Indiana's rust belt communities have voted more Republican over the years.
'I think this seat is one that belongs in the Republican column,' House Speaker Mike Johnson told IndyStar in 2024.
But Mrvan has still defeated his Republican challengers, winning reelection in 2022 by nearly six percentage points and in 2024 by eight percentage points.
When did Indiana last go through redistricting?
State lawmakers last went through redistricting in 2021 following the 2020 U.S. Census. At that time, Republicans left Mrvan's seat alone. Instead, they further cemented GOP grip on the 5th Congressional District after now-U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz defeated Democrat Christina Hale by four points in a nationally-watched race in 2020. Since then, Spartz has won general election contests in 2022 and 2024 by double-digit percentage points over her Democratic opponents.
The 2021 congressional maps also adjusted the boundaries of the 6th Congressional District, now represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Jefferson Shreve, to include the southern portion of Indianapolis.
Some Republicans at the time criticized the move as potentially minimizing the voices of more rural communities in that district.
This story will be updated.
Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at brittany.carloni@indystar.com.
Sign up for our free weekly politics newsletter, Checks & Balances, curated by IndyStar politics and government reporters.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: JD Vance to visit Indiana amid push for redistricting
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