By GARRETT BERGQUIST
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
Gov. Mike Braun on Tuesday said a special session to redraw Indiana’s congressional map is “increasingly likely.”
Braun
The Republican governor made those comments to the media following a Tuesday morning event at the Statehouse.
Braun says he still wants to wait until he gets a clear signal from Republicans whether they want him to call a special session. More state lawmakers who were previously against redistricting now say they support it. A notable example is Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, who in August called the idea of mid-cycle redistricting a “dangerous precedent” but posted on X days ago he is now “a rock solid HELL YES” on doing so.
“All I’m telling you is that we’re gonna look at it, we’re gonna poll our legislators, and if it’s there, we’ll do it,” Braun said. “My feeling is, it probably will happen. There will be some other issues we talk about but I’m going to let it happen organically at the pace we put in place. I think we’ll get there. That’s my opinion.”
Braun says other issues a special session could tackle might include adjusting state law to fit with new regulations in the federal budget bill.
Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, said the fact Braun is considering lumping other issues into a special session suggests Republicans still don’t have enough support for a session focusing only on redistricting. He said he’s in wait-and-see mode at this point. State lawmakers traditionally return to the Statehouse for one day every November to organize and prepare for the upcoming legislative session.
Braun said Democrats would redistrict “in a heartbeat” if they were in power and pointed to Massachusetts as an example. That state has slightly more people than Indiana but has no Republicans in Congress. DeLaney called that example irrelevant, pointing to the vast differences in the political leanings of the two states’ populations.
“The Republicans passed [Indiana’s current] maps without our agreement for those Congressional seats,” he said. “Are they saying they under-stole? They didn’t shoplift enough seats?”
Under the Indiana Constitution, the governor has the sole power to call a special session. Braun said if he does so, it would take place sometime between early November and the beginning of the regular legislative session in January, adding, “likely earlier rather than later.”
Braun has consistently said he will only call a special session if legislative Republicans clearly signal they want one and they could have one successfully. It’s up to House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, and Senate President pro tempore Rod Bray, R-Martinsville, to communicate with Braun where their caucuses stand on the issue. Huston and Bray’s offices did not return News 8’s request for comment on Braun’s remarks.
This story was originally published by WISH-TV at wishtv.com/news/politics/governor-braun-redrawing-map.