INDIANAPOLIS—Vice President JD Vance met with Indiana Gov. Mike Braun and key legislative leaders on Aug. 7 to debate altering the state’s congressional districts earlier than subsequent 12 months’s midterm elections.
The closed-door convention on the Indiana Statehouse included Home Speaker Todd Huston and Senate President Professional Tem Rodric Bray, each Republicans.
The assembly got here amid Republican-led states’ efforts to redraw their congressional maps to protect or enlarge the GOP’s slender majority within the U.S. Home of Representatives.
The occasion came about as Texas Republicans are trying to redraw their congressional map. Congressional maps are usually redrawn as soon as every decade, following the nation’s census.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbot known as a particular session of the state Legislature to contemplate redistricting after being notified by the Division of Justice that 4 congressional districts in Houston and Dallas could be unconstitutional attributable to “racial gerrymandering.”
The districts seem to group minority voters into “coalition districts,” the place no single racial group varieties a majority, which violates the Voting Rights Act, in accordance with the Division of Justice.
Some Texas Democratic lawmakers have annoyed the redistricting effort by leaving the state. That ensures that the Legislature can not obtain a quorum, the minimal variety of lawmakers required to cross laws.
For Indiana to contemplate redistricting, Braun must name a particular session of the state Legislature.
Republicans maintain a super-majority in each chambers, which would depart Democrats powerless to dam such a transfer as their Texas colleagues are doing.
State Sen. JD Ford, a Democrat, stated he anticipated the Legislature to maneuver ahead 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 stated in televised remarks on Fox59.
Ford, who had taken half in a protest rally on the Statehouse on the day of the Vance assembly, added, “We want people to know that our districts are not for sale.”
The governor issued a short assertion on social media after the assembly however declined to offer particulars or trace at an end result.
“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 present specifics of the assembly.
“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 stated in a written assertion.
Huston didn’t touch upon the assembly.
Rep. Frank Mrvan (D-Ind.), one in all two Democrats representing the state in Washington, stated the try was proof of the Trump administration’s failure to control successfully.
“They know that their only hope to maintain control is to pressure the Indiana General Assembly to violate the Indiana Constitution and redistrict U.S. House of Representative seats mid-decade,” Mrvan stated in a Might 5 assertion.
Mrvan’s First Congressional District is rated “Likely Democrat” by election analysts on the Prepare dinner Political Report. Mrvan’s benefit within the district fell from 16.2 p.c in 2020 to eight.5 p.c in 2024.
Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.) represents the reliably Democratic Seventh Congressional District, which incorporates Indianapolis. Prepare dinner charges the seat as “Solid Democrat.”
Govs. Kathy Hochul of New York and Gavin Newsom of California, each Democrats, have stated they’re contemplating redistricting plans to counter the Republican effort.
Newsom stated on Aug. 4 that he plans to name a particular election to ask voters to permit the state Meeting to redraw district maps.
The Epoch Instances discovered combined opinions in talking with lawmakers from these states.
New York Democratic state Sen. Jabari Brisport stated on Aug. 6 that he knew of no plans for “retaliatory redistricting” and stated he would want time to contemplate the matter if Hochul did name for a particular session.
California Assemblymember Lori Wilson, a Democrat, stated her state was contemplating the matter.
“You fight fire with fire,” Wilson informed The Epoch Instances on Aug. 6. “Texas is doing it—we can, too. Our leadership is saying this is on the table.”
John Haughey contributed to this report.
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