Ahead of the 2026 midterm election, Indiana Republicans want to redraw U.S. Congressional district lines.
The move would help Republicans maintain control in the U.S. House of Representatives. Republicans currently hold seven of Indiana’s nine House seats, and the proposed maps would likely give them the remaining two held by Democrats.
If the maps are passed by the Indiana General Assembly, Hoosiers across the state could see their representatives change.
“There are a number of outside groups putting pressure on our elected representatives, not because this is necessarily good for Indiana, but because it will be good for the national Republican Party,” said Paul Helmke, an Indiana University professor in the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
The second reading for the new maps heads to the Indiana House floor Thursday.
House Speaker Todd Huston (IN-37) acknowledged the political motivations behind redistricting, the Indiana Capital Chronicle reported.
“We’ve always had districts that span hundreds of miles,” Huston said. “The maps were put together with the interest of trying to create as many Republican seats as possible.”
What could happen to Monroe and surrounding counties?
Monroe County currently sits in District 9 under U.S. Rep Erin Houchin (R). If the proposed maps pass, the county would move to District 8, grouped with southwest Indiana. U.S. Rep. Mark Messmer (R) represents District 8.
“Monroe County, since it's Bloomington, more of a Democratic area, we get moved around quite a bit,” Helmke said. “The argument might be, who's going to pay attention to Bloomington if we keep switching congressional reps every year?”
Meanwhile, Owen County would move out of District 8 and into District 4. Owen County would be grouped with other western Indiana counties, under U.S. Rep. Jim Baird (R).
Brown County would remain in District 9. District 9 would stretch from the middle of Marion County down to the Southern Indiana border.
The most significant changes would occur in Marion County.
Two traditionally Democratic districts in Marion County will be split and grouped into right-leaning communities, diluting their voting power, said Elizabeth Bennion, professor of political science at IU South Bend.
“Politically, we know there's an urban-rural divide,” Bennion said. “But now, people are being put into districts where their perspective and some of those interests might not be represented at all, and so this will be a big change for many Hoosiers.”
Helmke has successfully run for office in the past, and he said representatives typically want to get to know their constituents. That's hard when districts are stretched so far.
“I think districts, as much as possible, should be compact,” Helmke said. “They should represent the economic and demographic realities of the community.”
Bennion said regional partnerships could be disrupted, too. For example, she said Jeffersonville and New Albany have more relationships and stronger economic ties with Louisville than Indianapolis. But the border towns would be grouped with the capital city by the new map.
“We have a number of economic development partnerships that have been created with the help of the federal and state government over the last decade, and some of those now will change,” Bennion said.
Huston said the lawmakers split fewer counties and townships in the proposed map than in 2021.
“We tried to do, keep some of those principles together,” Huston said. “But these maps were generated to create the greatest advantage for Republicans.”
As the redistricting proposal is considered, Bennion encourages people in Indiana to speak up and contact their legislatures.
“Maybe the public will see that this is not a partisan issue,” Bennion said. “It is a fairness issue.”
Why is Indiana proposing redistricting now?
Bennion said the president’s party historically loses seats during midterm elections. The more unpopular the president, the more seats their party could lose.
“Right now, President Trump is at about 36-40 percent, depending on which poll you look at, so well below that 50 percent threshold,” Bennion said.
House Republicans now have a slim majority. Facing pressure from the Trump administration and other influential Republicans, Hoosier lawmakers could approve the changes to congressional districts.
Trump spoke against Sen. Rodric Bray (IN-37) and Sen. Greg Goode (IN-38) on Truth Social for not wanting to redistrict Indiana.
“Any Republican that votes against this important redistricting, potentially having an impact on America itself, should be PRIMARIED,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Indiana’s redistricting push follows Texas, California and other states. Huston said lawmakers “thought long and hard about it.”
"Indiana is not acting in the vacuum on this," Huston said Monday.
While about 40-45 percent of Indiana voters choose Democrats in a given year, Bennion said Indiana’s new district maps could give Indiana Republicans control of all nine districts.
“We hear a lot of talk about fair maps,” Bennion said. “But by nobody's calculation, is a nine to zero map with a 60-40 vote split fair for Hoosiers.”
The new district map must pass the Indiana House and Senate before being signed by Gov. Mike Braun.
Helmke said the House will probably approve the map.
“But the big question is in the Indiana Senate,” Helmke said.
While Republicans have a supermajority in Indiana, Helmke said it’s possible 16 senators could join 10 Democratic senators to strike down the new map.
There has been some resistance within the Republican party. Helmke said prominent leaders such as former Gov. Mitch Daniels spoke out against redistricting plans. Others don’t want to feel bullied by Republicans outside of Indiana. Disagreements in a party resistant to change complicate the situation even more.
Republicans drew the current district lines after the 2020 Census, standing by that map and keeping most seats, Helmke said.
“After they did that, they said, ‘This is a great map. This is a fair map,’” Helmke said. “Well now, all of a sudden, they're being called on by the national Republicans in the White House to redo that map.”
Even if the maps pass, Helmke and Bennion expect lawsuits immediately. If the changes are seen as racial gerrymandering, the new district maps would violate the U.S. Constitution.
Indiana lawmakers have acknowledged the map is "politically gerrymandered” but denied racial gerrymandering.
“When gerrymandering occurs, it basically means that our elected officials are choosing their voters, instead of the voters choosing their elected officials,” Helmke said. “I think that’s wrong.”
