Gov. Mike Braun and other Indiana GOP leaders gave little indication of their reaction to the idea of redrawing maps to bolster the Republicans’ House majority.
INDIANAPOLIS—Vice President JD Vance met with Indiana Gov. Mike Braun and key legislative leaders on Aug. 7 to discuss altering the state’s congressional districts before next year’s midterm elections.
The closed-door conference at the Indiana Statehouse included House Speaker Todd Huston and Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, both Republicans.
The meeting came amid Republican-led states’ efforts to redraw their congressional maps to preserve or enlarge the GOP’s narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The event took place as Texas Republicans are attempting to redraw their congressional map. Congressional maps are normally redrawn once each decade, following the nation’s census.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbot called a special session of the state Legislature to consider redistricting after being notified by the Department of Justice that four congressional districts in Houston and Dallas might be unconstitutional due to “racial gerrymandering.”
The districts appear to group minority voters into “coalition districts,” where no single racial group forms a majority, which violates the Voting Rights Act, according to the Department of Justice.
Some Texas Democratic lawmakers have frustrated the redistricting effort by leaving the state. That ensures that the Legislature cannot achieve a quorum, the minimum number of lawmakers required to pass legislation.
For Indiana to consider redistricting, Braun would have to call a special session of the state Legislature.
Republicans hold a super-majority in both chambers, which would leave Democrats powerless to block such a move as their Texas colleagues are doing.
State Sen. JD Ford, a Democrat, said he expected the Legislature to move forward with the plan.
“My gut tells me that at some point, we’re going to be in a special session to redraw those district lines,” Ford said in televised remarks on Fox59.
Ford, who had taken part in a protest rally at the Statehouse on the day of the Vance meeting, added, “We want people to know that our districts are not for sale.”
The governor issued a brief statement on social media after the meeting but declined to provide details or hint at an outcome.
“It was great to meet with @VP Vance today. We discussed a number of issues, and I was pleased to highlight some of the great things happening in Indiana,” Braun wrote.
Bray likewise declined to give specifics of the meeting.
“I appreciated the opportunity to hear from the Vice President on a variety of issues, which we will continue to talk through in the days ahead,” Bray said in a written statement.
