Braun says redistricting fight in "just the first inning"
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Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, on Organization Day. Photo: Arika Herron/Axios
It took less than 10 minutes for the fractures between the Indiana Republican Party to show after lawmakers convened for the ceremonial start of the 2026 legislative session.
Why it matters: The redistricting fight is dividing Republicans, while the Trump administration is pressuring the party to unite and deliver additional GOP congressional seats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Catch up quick: Gov. Mike Braun called lawmakers in for a special redistricting session even though Senate Republicans said they didn't have the votes.
- Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray (R-Martinsville) confirmed last week the chamber would not come in to take up redistricting.
The latest: Braun said Tuesday he's considering ways to compel the Senate to show up for the session and take a public vote.
Driving the news: A procedural vote taken on each Organization Day — usually without issue — divided that chamber's Republican caucus.
- 19 of 40 Republican senators voted against a resolution allowing the chamber to adjourn until January, trying to force the Senate to come back and take up the redistricting issue.
- The resolution passed with Democratic support.
What they're saying: Sen. Mike Young (R-Indianapolis) said he'd "be sick" if the GOP was short of the majority by one or two seats after the midterms.
The other side: Bray said every member of his caucus wants to deliver a Republican majority in Congress next time.
- "A number of members of our caucus — I'm included in that — don't feel like it's the right way to move forward, simply because it's not the right way to get that goal achieved," Bray told reporters Tuesday.
- Instead, Bray wants to see the party focus on flipping the 1st congressional district in northwest Indiana by recruiting and supporting a strong candidate to challenge incumbent Democrat Frank Mrvan.
House Speaker Todd Huston (R-Fishers) said Tuesday he's keeping the first two weeks of December open with the hopes that they'll come back to pass a new congressional map and that Braun is keeping up his calls for a public vote.
- "It's a question of evening up the playing field and we're just getting started," Braun told reporters. "This is just in the first inning."
Reality check: Polls show the majority of Hoosiers are opposed to mid-cycle redistricting.
- A pro-redistricting rally held Tuesday at the Statehouse had an anemic turnout, just a fraction of the crowd that turned out for several anti-redistricting rallies over the last several months.
What's next: The regular session is set to convene Jan. 5.
What we're watching: If lawmakers don't return before then, there is a chance some redistricting supporters will try to push the legislation through at the beginning of the regular session.
- But that would make for difficult timing ahead of the February congressional filing deadline.