“Gerrymandering.”
“Power grab.”
“Cheating.”
This is how opponents of redistricting feel about the Republican effort to redraw Indiana’s congressional districts to give the party an advantage in the 2026 midterm elections.
A committee of Indiana senators sat through four hours of testimony on Monday, Dec. 8 before voting 6-3 to advance a redistricting bill to the Senate chamber. Sen. Greg Walker, a Republican from Columbus, broke with his colleagues to vote with two Democrats against the legislation.
Outside the room, protesters held signs that said “No mid-cycle redistricting” and “Protect our vote.” At times, they could be heard chanting “No cheaters” during Senate proceedings.
Of the nearly 100 people who testified before the Senate elections committee, 79 spoke out in opposition to redistricting, while 17 were in support.
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It’s unclear if the Senate will follow the House and vote in favor of the new maps. Senate President Rod Bray, a Republican from Martinsville, previously said the chamber doesn’t have the votes needed, but he told reporters ahead of the hearing that “we’ll find out on Thursday” whether the bill has enough support from his colleagues.
The map, introduced just last Monday and passed by the Republican supermajority in the House on Friday, would split the city of Indianapolis into four districts distributed across other Republican-leaning areas. It also groups the cities of East Chicago and Gary with a broad rural region.
The White House has upped the pressure on Indiana. Vice President JD Vance visited Indianapolis twice since August, and legislative leaders met with Trump in the Oval Office earlier this year.
‘Cracking up’ Marion County
Critics say the new map will shift power away from Black voters and minority communities.
One opponent of mid-decade redistricting calls this strategy the “cracking up” of Marion County.
“Their voices will be drowned out by the predominantly red districts that may not necessarily align with things that they want in their communities,” said Denise Abdul-Rahman, a Pike Township resident who works with the Indiana chapter of the NAACP.
She said Rep. André Carson, a Democrat who represents a large swath of Indianapolis in Congress, has been an important advocate for her community. But the new maps would place Pike Township in the district of Rep. Jim Baird, a rural Republican.
“I have to wonder, will this person listen to me?” she pondered.
Members of the public chant outside the Senate chamber while testimonies are given on Dec. 8, 2025, during the Senate Elections Committee at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis. (Brett Phelps/Mirror Indy/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
At least two Indianapolis residents spoke in favor of redistricting.
One of them was J.D. Miniear, a longtime Indy resident who ran as a Republican in Carson’s district in 2020.
Miniear told senators to remember the words of Ronald Reagan, who told Indiana lawmakers in a 1982 speech: “You are the public servants who offer the most creative solutions and most promising hopes for our nation’s future.”
The ‘Air Bud’ rule?
Other Indy residents, such as Marcel Duplantier, a local attorney, said the effort is illegal.
The Indiana Constitution mandates the General Assembly redraw congressional maps after each census. But supporters of redistricting say that there isn’t anything in the Constitution that prevents lawmakers from redrawing the maps at other times.
Duplantier, though, believes that to be a flawed argument, which he called the “Air Bud” rule.
“If something’s not given to the legislature, they don’t have the power to do it,” Duplantier said.
In the 1997 film Air Bud, in which a golden retriever leads a high school basketball team to a state championship, the referees allowed the dog to play basketball because “there’s no rule that a dog can’t play basketball.”
People give testimonies during the Senate Elections Committee meeting on Dec. 8, 2025, at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis. (Brett Phelps/Mirror Indy/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
Marion County clerk says map is incorrect
Kate Sweeney Bell, a Democrat and the Marion County Clerk, said the proposed maps are missing precincts for Marion County.
“The names that we call our precincts in Marion County are not the same as in the bill,” Bell said.
Bell also urged lawmakers to consider the time and resources it will take her office to get the maps ready in time to meet a February deadline for candidate filings. She estimates the process will cost Marion County about $1 million.
“If you’re on the fence, please keep what I’ve said in mind: The cost, the mistakes, the time, and that it will create havoc,” Bell said.
What’s next?
The Senate plans to reconvene at 12:30 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 9, to consider amendments to the redistricting bill. There will be no public comment.
The chamber is expected to take a final vote Thursday, Dec. 11.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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Peter Blanchard covers local government. Reach him at 317-605-4836 or peter.blanchard@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @peterlblanchard.
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