Indiana Republicans release proposed congressional redistricting plan

Indiana House Republicans released Monday a proposed redrawing of the state’s congressional maps aimed at producing a 9-0 Republican U.S. House delegation.

The proposed map splits strongly Democratic Indianapolis among four districts that all stretch far into rural, heavily Republican counties.

The map obliterates the current 7th District now held by Democratic Rep. André Carson. The new 7th District would span from the north side of Indianapolis to counties along the Ohio River near Cincinnati.
 

The Lake Michigan shoreline area that now makes up the 1st District held by Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan also is split up. Republicans propose a new 1st District taking in Democratic-friendly Lake County then heading southeast to take in the areas around the small cities of Logansport, Peru and Wabash.

Indiana House members are scheduled to meet Monday afternoon to start the process of considering the congressional redistricting that President Donald Trump has been demanding for months to improve the chances of Republicans keeping their slim majority in the U.S. House.

House Republicans will announce today who will carry the bill as well as information on public hearings. In 2021, lawmakers held 14 hearings around the state and in Indianapolis.

The state Senate, where several Republican senators have expressed opposition to the redistricting, is expected to meet next week.

Trump won each of the districts under the proposed map by at least 12 percentage points in the 2024 election, according to an analysis by Indianapolis City-County Councilor Nick Roberts, a Democrat.

Trump’s narrowest win was in the proposed 1st District, where Republican Gov. Mike Braun won by a 6 percentage point margin, according to Roberts.

Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com.