By Jacob Burg
Contributing Writer
Republicans from Indiana’s House of Representatives released a draft of their redrawn congressional map on Monday, which would give the GOP an advantage in all nine of the state’s districts and potentially net them two seats in Congress next year.
The draft map makes significant changes to Indiana’s two Democratic-leaning districts — the first and seventh — which are represented by Reps. Frank Mrvan, D-Ind., and André Carson, D-Ind., respectively.
Republicans opted to split Marion County, the home of Indianapolis, into four separate districts — especially favoring Districts 6 and 9, which are represented by Republican Reps. Jefferson Shreve and Erin Houchin. The draft map also pushes some northwest Marion County residents into District 4, which is held by Rep. Jim Baird, R-Ind.
The map largely pushes Carson’s 7th District farther east and into the southeastern portions of the state; previously, it covered Indianapolis and its neighboring communities.
These changes would likely dilute Democrats’ support in and around Indianapolis, a politically critical area, and push many Republican voters into the 1st and 7th Districts, which are currently represented by Democrats.
Multi-State Redistricting Battle
President Donald Trump kicked off the multi-state, mid-cycle redistricting battle when he asked Texas earlier this year to redraw its congressional districts halfway through the decade to net Republicans five additional seats in the 2026 midterms.
Midterms often see the White House incumbent party lose seats in Congress, which happened to Trump in 2018 and then-President Joe Biden in 2022.
After Texas moved to redraw its districts to boost the GOP, California retaliated by putting a ballot initiative before voters this year to redraw the Golden State’s districts to benefit Democrats. The proposition succeeded on Nov. 4.
Trump has asked other Republican states to follow Texas’ lead, and recently told Indiana Gov. Mike Braun that he “must produce” on redistricting the state, or “he will be the only governor, Republican or Democrat, who didn’t.”
A week later, Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston said that House Republicans would convene on Monday to consider redrawing the state’s congressional map, with Indiana Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray later confirming the state Senate would meet on Dec. 8 to “make a final decision” on any redistricting proposals from the state House.
However, Bray has said previously that he lacks the votes in the state Senate to pass a new congressional map mid-cycle, making the effort’s fate uncertain.
The White House has repeatedly promoted redistricting to the Indiana Legislature, with Vice President JD Vance making two visits to the state to discuss the plan with lawmakers.
Democrats have been critical of the efforts, describing them as efforts to “gerrymander” districts to give Republicans an edge in the 2026 midterms, when the GOP is at risk of losing control of the House. Gerrymandering is the practice of drawing districts to favor one party over another.
Indiana Republican Targeted with Pipe Bomb
The day before Indiana Republicans released a draft of their newly redrawn congressional map, state Sen. Jean Leising, a Republican, said someone targeted her home with a pipe bomb threat. She said “D.C. political pundits” advocating for redistricting were to blame for the threat.
“Unfortunately, my house was the target of a pipe bomb threat on Saturday evening. This is a result of the D.C. political pundits for redistricting,” she wrote on social media. “Thanks to the Oldenburg Town Marshall, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the ISP, all is OK!”
The post included a photo of Leising with a caption written in all caps, “‘I will not cave’ on opposition to redistricting.”
In a follow-up post, Leising criticized the draft map and said, “This is entirely political — not looking out for Indiana constituents!”
Several state lawmakers who have not endorsed Trump’s plan to redraw Indiana’s congressional districts recently reported swatting incidents at their homes.
Jack Phillips and Aldgra Fredly contributed to this report.
