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The Indiana House gaveled in with a narrow quorum Monday afternoon—over the sounds of protesters outside its chambers—to begin the process of redrawing the state’s congressional maps.
The start of the 2026 legislative session comes after months of political pressure from the White House for GOP-controlled states to reconfigure maps to favor Republicans ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
On Monday, Indiana Republicans for the first time published the maps they will consider in House Bill 1032, the formal redistricting measure. The bill alters many of the state’s nine congressional districts to favor Republicans, as allies of President Donald Trump have urged Indiana to seek a 9-0 Republican majority of seats. The state currently has a 7-2 split.
Texas was first to redraw its maps over the summer, which sparked a series of reactions from other states. To counter Texas redrawing five Republican seats, Democrat-controlled California passed a ballot measure that could see Democrats gain five seats. Other states, including Missouri, Virginia, Kansas and Florida, could be weighing similar measures.
Speaking to reporters Monday afternoon, House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, emphasized that Indiana is responding to the national climate. Huston last week announced that the House would reconvene Dec. 1 as part of the 2026 legislative session after legislators voted the previous week to wait until the new year to begin legislative business.
“I’ve thought long and hard about it,” Huston said. “When you see what Virginia did, and they don’t think twice about coming in right before an election and changing their constitution so they can do redistricting, that had an impact on me. Seeing what California did and overwhelming voting for new maps there—I think this is where the political environment is right now.”
House Democrats decried the proposal as an “egregious gerrymander” and attempted multiple procedural maneuvers to prevent the session from starting. Members did not vote as present, hoping there wouldn’t be enough Republicans present to form a 67-member quorum. When Republicans narrowly mustered a quorum of 68 members, Democrats came to the floor and argued that convening the House was improper.
House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, pointed to House Rule 2.3, which states the speaker must “consult” the minority leader about convening on a date not previously approved.
Republicans voted down the challenge to start the session.
The proposed map changes are most significant in Districts 1 and 7, which currently cover northwest Indiana and Marion County, respectively. Marion County, which is currently its own district, represented by Democrat André Carson, would be split between four districts that include rural areas of the state.
District 1—in the northwest part of the state, currently held by Democrat Frank Mrvan—would no longer include most of Porter and LaPorte counties. Instead, that district would start in Lake County and extend far to the southeast to include Starke, Pulaski, Fulton, Miami, Cass and Wabash counties.
Huston said the House worked with pro-redistricting Senate Republicans and the National Republican Redistricting Trust to come up with the maps. He confirmed Republican state lawmakers recently took a call with U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.
“We split fewer counties in this map than we did in the 2021 map; we split fewer townships in this map than we did in the 2021 maps,” Huston said. “We tried to keep some of those principles together, but these maps were generated to create the greatest advantage to Republicans.”
Rep. Blake Johnson, D-Indianapolis, said the map “pulls Washington-style gamesmanship into the heart of our state government.”
Protesters rally in opposition
At press conference Monday, members of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus said the proposed maps are a racial gerrymandering effort meant to dilute the power of Black voters.
Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, said the proposed map intentionally breaks up majority-minority tracts, including his district.
“When you look at how they carve that area up in Marion County, and we haven’t had time to analyze this further, they may be in violation of racial gerrymandering statutes that we saw in Texas,” Taylor said.
Rep. Carolyn Jackson, D-Gary, added that switching congressional districts has an enormous effect on communities, since representatives advocate for their districts for a variety of federal programs.
“They did not consider so many things when these maps were drawn,” Jackson said. “Just glancing at it, it’s going to affect children, child care, seniors as well as those with disabilities. They’re already suffering because of Medicaid cuts, now this.”
A crowd of around 350 protestors gathered at the Statehouse before the House met on Monday, rallying against redistricting. Protestors heard speakers from the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, Indivisible Central Indiana, MADVoters, Common Cause, Indiana Conservation Voters and Democratic lawmakers.
After the rally, a group of protesters stood outside the House chambers chanting “no means no.” The crowd stuck around as legislators were in session to cheer when Democrats spoke on the floor.
House Bill 1032
Language detailing the newly proposed maps is contained in House Bill 1032, authored by Rep. Ben Smaltz, R-Auburn.
In addition to the maps themselves, the bill explicitly allows mid-cycle redistricting. Currently, Indiana Code says congressional maps must be drawn every decade in the year following the results of the national census, but it makes no mention of whether mid-cycle redistricting is allowed.
The bill also attempts to restrict legal challenges to any congressional or General Assembly districts by making it illegal to file a temporary injunction in state court. The bill specifies that only the Indiana Supreme Court has jurisdiction over appeals related to electoral maps, though it would not apply to lawsuits filed in federal courts.
Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, said the measure is “literally sticking a finger in the eye of the judiciary.” Huston said the bill’s language is meant to speed the appeals process.
Indiana’s redistricting bill goes to the House Committee on Elections and Apportionment, which will hear public comment Tuesday.
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