White House officials reportedly have been pressing Indiana state legislators to move forward with drawing new maps. The Hoosier State currently sends seven Republicans and two Democrats to the House in addition to its two Republicans senators.
Democrat Rep. Frank Mrvan, representing the 1st District, is the most likely to see his home district disappear.
Monday afternoon, Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) became the first member of Indiana’s congressional delegation to publicly call for Indiana to move towards new maps.
“Democrats have proven they will use every tool available to them to gain and keep power,” Stutzman posted on X. “For years, Republicans have idly stood by while the Left has weaponized government against us. It’s time for us to drop the gloves. At this moment, our state has the opportunity to give conservative Hoosiers the representation in DC they deserve. I stand with President Trump, it’s time to redraw Indiana’s congressional map!”
By Monday evening, Indiana’s other six Republican members of Congress had joined Stutzman.
But the action must take place in the state’s capital of Indianapolis.
In a sign of his seriousness, Trump reportedly invited Republican members of the state legislature to the White House in late August, where he is expected to put pressure on legislators to complete the proposed redistricting effort.
Yet a handful of Republican state legislators have expressed hesitance. “For Hoosiers, Indiana Republicans, to abandon their principles and basically take away the rules, that sets such a dangerous precedent moving forward and for our children,” said state Sen. Jim Lucas.
But with supermajorities in both chambers of the statehouse, Republicans could safely lose a handful of defections.
The national tit-for-tat began in Texas, although Republicans are more likely to emerge with more seats from the ensuing battle.
Within days, Texas could approve new lines that net Republicans five congressional seats. By the end of the week, the California legislature could approve a November special session by which voters could override their current map drawn by an independent commission and net Democrats five seats.
Yet Democrat-run states, which have long used gerrymandering to increase their representation in Washington, are close to maxed out on how many more Republican areas they could slice up to create Democrat districts.
States like Indiana and Missouri could easily send an additional Republican apiece to Washington. And Florida, which has grown increasingly red even since the last drawing of district lines, could add a handful more.
Trump undoubtedly wants to avoid losing the House in the midterms. In 2018, Democrats’ return to power in the House effectively brought Trump’s first term to a halt and resulted in two impeachments.
Each additional Republican seat could prove the difference in the continued implementation of Trump’s America First agenda or its destruction — or worse. With many Democrats still hungry to throw him in jail, Trump does not want to take any chances.
Bradley Jaye is Deputy Political Editor for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter and Instagram @BradleyAJaye.
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