An Indiana group filed a public records request Monday seeking all redistricting discussion between Gov. Mike Braun’s administration and White House employees from August first onward — as national Republicans continue to pressure the Hoosier State to act.
Count Us IN said in a release that, “Hoosiers deserve to know what threats are being made to Indiana programs and projects if policymakers refuse to cave to Washington’s demands.” In September, Gov. Mike Braun said not moving forward with the presidential priority could have “consequences.”
Republican-led legislatures in Texas and Missouri have already approved new maps that could add six new GOP seats ahead of the 2026 midterms. Growing the historically slim party margin in Congress has been a priority for President Donald Trump, whose agenda could be stymied by a Democratic majority in the U.S. House.
California will put a new map before voters in November that could counter Texas’ maps, adding five new seats for Democrats. The fight over redistricting, which traditionally occurs once every ten years, has rippled into other states, including Utah, Maryland and Kansas.
Two of Indiana’s nine congressional seats are held by Democrats — one in northwestern Indiana and one in deep blue Marion County. Boundaries for Indiana’s congressional districts were last drawn in 2021.
The public records request from Count Us IN, filed under Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act, specifically mentions references to “federally funded programs, initiatives, projects or pending waivers that the White House has threatened to stall, delay, or cease if Indiana policymakers do not agree to redraw the state’s congressional maps.”
Previously, Republican leaders haven’t said if there have been threats to state funding.
“Hoosiers deserve to know what kind of pressure is being applied to state leaders and what’s at stake for our communities,” said Count Us IN founder Jalyn Radziminski. “Full transparency is the foundation of accountability, and we hope the Governor’s Office will be forthcoming about what Hoosier priorities may be held up or canceled if Indiana doesn’t cave to Washington’s whims.”
Braun on Sept. 23 told reporters he doesn’t think the state will lose federal funding if it doesn’t move forward.
“I really wouldn’t expect that that would probably occur. It’s just something that, why would you mess with a relationship where Indiana has been accruing a lot of benefits from it?”
Indiana law doesn’t require a speedy response to public records requests — only an acknowledgement within seven days, which was shared in the release.