Buttigieg urges Hoosiers to oppose GOP redistricting at Statehouse rally

Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg urged hundreds of Hoosiers at a Statehouse rally Thursday to hold Republicans accountable if they redraw the state's congressional map.

State Republican lawmakers appear likely to redraw congressional district lines this year to gain more seats for the GOP ahead of next year's midterms.

Buttigieg, a former South Bend mayor, came home to Indiana to urge citizens to talk to their neighbors and push state lawmakers not to redistrict.

Buttigieg said rather than change their unpopular policies, national Republicans are trying to change district maps.

"They know that, on a fair map, if they get caught taking all the money they took out of Medicaid and giving it to tax cuts for billionaires, they will lose," Buttigieg said.

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Gov. Mike Braun this week said in an interview on WOWO radio in Fort Wayne that there could be negative consequences from the Trump administration if Indiana doesn't redraw its map.

Sen. Andrea Hunley (D-Indianapolis) said that shouldn't matter.

"Gov. Mike Braun should be less worried about relationships with politicians out in D.C. and should be more concerned with making life better for Hoosiers," Hunley said.

States usually redistrict at the start of the decade following the national census but President Donald Trump has set off a redistricting race around the country.

Braun said a special session for redistricting would probably happen in November.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.