By ASHLEY FOWLER & MELEA VanOSTRAND
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
Indiana House Republicans on Monday released a draft of the congressional map they’d like to see implemented ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The map divides Indiana into nine new congressional districts; however, the districts are drawn very differently from what is shown on the map approved by lawmakers in 2021.
The most notable change is the division of voters in Marion County. The current congressional map divides the county between the 6th and 7th districts, represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Jefferson Shreve and Democrat U.S. Rep. Andre Carson, respectively.
The new maps would dilute the voting power of heavily Democratic Marion County, splitting it into four districts, all of which include large swaths of Republican-leaning areas.
Redistricting would divide Marion County voters between the 4th, 6th, 7th, and 9th districts and split downtown Indianapolis in half. Most notable is the 9th District, which would lump Indianapolis-area residents in with voters from Seymour, Jeffersonville, and New Albany.
“Splicing our state’s largest city – and its biggest economic driver – into four parts is ridiculous,” Carson said in a release. “It’s clear these orders are coming from Washington, and they clearly don’t know the first thing about our community. Hoosiers have made their voices heard and won’t stand for it.”
In northern Indiana, the traditionally Democratic 1st District would be slashed to include larger portions of Republican-leaning Porter, Starke, Marshall, Fulton, and Cass counties.
Senate Democratic Leader Shelli Yoder, of Bloomington, issued a statement on behalf of the Indiana Democratic Caucus that said in part: “The map is out, and Hoosiers deserve honesty about what it represents. This is not redistricting. It is rigging. House Republicans did not draw this map to reflect the will of the people. They drew it to produce results that President Trump wants. It is cheating, not competing, and it strips Hoosiers of the most basic power they have in a democracy: the ability to choose who represents them.”
State Rep. Todd Huston, of Fishers, the Republican speaker of the Indiana House, said, “We feel like all voices are heard, every Hoosier will be represented and in regards to the courts, it’s just making sure there’s a process to get it to the Supreme Court as quickly as possible. They’re the final determinant.”
State Sen. Fady Qaddoura, an Indianapolis Democrat, said he believes the proposal is racially motivated and lawmakers’ priorities should shift to bigger issues in the state. “We’re here to fight for Hoosiers to be sure that the quality of their lives has improved, that we make life more affordable and we use every ounce of energy, every second we have in the general assembly not to play political games, but to actually work on real issues that are impacting real Hoosiers in every ZIP code in Indiana.”
The conversation wasn’t just contained to the chambers, as dozens of protesters rallied inside the state house calling the proposed map a lack of transparency and attack on their voting rights.
David Greene, a pastor with the Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis, said Monday that the proposal threatens decades of political gains for neighborhoods that already fight for representation at the statehouse.
“It’s just a clear mark of ‘we want to divide Marion County, we want to dilute the Black vote, we want to do damage to the Black community and we are going to do that because we can,’” Greene said.
Huston defended the proposal saying it’s what people want across the country and that the map was created with the intent to create as many Republican seats as possible.
“Democrats and Republicans in pretty large majorities across the country say they’re fine with political gerrymandering,” Huston said. “We’re doing this because it’s the national environment we’re in. We operate not in a vacuum but across a national environment.”
Large changes could also happen in northern Indiana, where the traditionally Democratic 1st district would expand into Republican-leaning counties such as Starke, Marshall, and Cass, making it more competitive.
Also on Monday, Qaddoura filed legislation seeking to prohibit midcycle redistricting. He argued that the state has no reason to redraw federal congressional lines before the next census and that it undermines public trust.
Indiana Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, a Martinsville Republican, said last week that the Senate would meet on Dec. 8 to consider whatever map the House passes.
This story was originally published by WISH-TV at wishtv.com/news/indiana-news/indiana-draft-congressional-map-redistricting.