Indiana Rejects Trump Gerrymander

‘No’ votes came down to listening to constituents

On the late afternoon of December 11, with a snowstorm threatening outside the Statehouse, the Indiana Senate finally voted on an issue that had been looming for months, a mid-decade redistricting of the state’s federal Congressional Districts. During the debate, more than 200 Hoosiers watched from the Senate gallery and the hall outside the chambers, sharing their voices opposition or, increasingly, agreement.

When the results of the vote were announced, the redistricting demanded by Donald Trump lost, 31 to 19, with a majority of Republican Senators joining ten Democrats in opposition. News reports show the crowd reacting with joyful cheers and hugs. (Indy Star News Video.) Local reporters said that the Republican “’ ‘No’ votes came down to listening to constituents who did not support” redistricting, with “Hoosiers raising their voices against” the gerrymander first demanded by Donald Trump in August.

Many national analysts highlighted the Republican senators who opposed Trump’s demands. Those twenty-one senators deserve credit for recognizing that voters were opposed to redistricting. In the final weeks before the vote, many of these same senators endured attacks from the White House, as well as a wave of anonymous threats of violence.

Journalists reporting locally emphasized the importance of ordinary Hoosiers gathering by the hundreds for each day of the two week session to stand against the Trump scheme to steal two of Indiana’s nine Congressional districts. Representing the majority of Hoosiers and aligned with a group of movement partners, Indivisible Central Indiana demanded that legislators elected by Hoosier voters stay responsible to those voters and not to the autocratic whims of the White House.  Ultimately, it was ordinary Hoosiers who won this campaign, successfully ensuring that the Indiana Senate did the right thing in voting down redistricting.

Indiana's Anti-Redistricting Coalition

Thank you to the thousands of Hoosiers who called their representatives and showed up at the Statehouse. And, special recognition to the organizations that built an anti-redistricting coalition:

• The Indiana Indivisible Network

  • Indivisible Central Indiana

  • Indivisible South Central Indiana

  • Northwest Indiana Indivisible

  • Indivisible Northeast Indiana

  • Indivisible Westside

  • Fishers Resists

• MADVoters of Indiana

• ACLU Indiana

• Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis

• Women4Change

• Common Cause of Indiana

• Indiana Conservation Voters

• Indiana Democratic Black Legislative Caucus

• Indiana Democratic Latino Legislative Caucus

Indivisible Central Indiana and the Anti-Redistricting Campaign

Indivisible Central Indiana (ICI), along with a growing group of partner organizations, played a key role in this victory, by mobilizing Hoosiers and coordinating organizational partners. 

ICI activists, along with other Indiana Indivisible groups were active in the Statehouse these last two weeks. Over the past several months, ICI was in the middle of this campaign, sometimes leading actions and sometimes supporting actions led by other groups. This effort is building a united front of Indiana organizations that is truly indivisible in our commitment to preserve democracy from the threat of authoritarianism.

Indiana’s fight against redistricting began with an August 7 visit by J.D. Vance to Indianapolis. After Texas Republicans voted to radically redistrict their state, Trump and Vance saw Indiana as an easy win. But despite short notice, Indivisible Central Indiana mobilized a streetside rally outside Governor Mike Braun’s official home during afternoon drive time on the same day of Vance’s visit. (Indy Star: Hundreds Protest Proposed Redistricting Plans Outside of Indiana Governor’s Residence).

Elsewhere, another protest inside the Statehouse led by our partner, MADVoters of Indiana, loudly expressed their opposition to the meeting between Vance, Braun and Indiana Republican legislators. (Indy Star: Vance Hid in Tunnels While Protestors Made Their Voices Heard)

In the weeks that followed, while Trump and his followers attempted to sway Republican legislators to eliminate all of the Democratic representation in the state legislature, ICI employed our communications tools to mobilize Indivisibles to advocate with those same Republicans. A constant stream of messaging about opposing redistricting went out through our weekly newsletter, targeted emails, and our social media channels. Starting in August and continuing in force through the December 11 vote, the campaign consistently and regularly messaged Hoosiers to call their legislators and tell them “No Redistricting.”

No Kings 2.0: No Pawns, No Puppets

Shortly after the Vance visit, Indivisible Central Indiana convened several partners to coordinate plans for the national No Kings Day 2 to use this event to reinforce the fight against redistricting. We chose a theme, “No Kings No Pawns, No Puppets”, that emphasized the complicity of Indiana’s Republicans in upholding the authoritarian agenda. Marketing created a graphic of Governor Braun as a puppet, whose strings were pulled by an orange hand. The program for that day featured speakers who made the case against redistricting to the 10,000 people who gathered on the south lawn of the Indiana Statehouse on October 18, arguing that early redistricting was not a right or left issue, but an issue every Hoosier should be concerned about (Indy Star video: No Kings Protest at Indiana Statehouse)

Legislators Convene, Hoosier Voters Show Up

A few days after No Kings, Braun announced a session of the Indiana General Assembly for November 3 to redraw congressional maps. On that day, opponents gathered in the north atrium of the Statehouse for an anti-redistricting rally organized by the Democratic Black Legislative Caucus, one of many protests to come. Amid reports of senators reluctant to support new maps, Indivisible Central Indiana and our partners ramped up calls for voter contact.In the weeks leading up to the final vote, Hoosiers showed up in increasing numbers, both in person at the Statehouse and in the voicemails and inboxes of legislators.

The effect of this advocacy became  apparent. Over November, reporting revealed the internal conflicts in the Republican supermajority with speculation as to whether there would be a vote and when it might happen. Constituent voices were making a difference. On November 14, Majority Leader Roderic Bray announced that the Senate would not reconvene after the Thanksgiving break. It did not appear that enough Senators would vote in favor of redistricting. 

Pressure on Indiana legislators increased from Washington, with direct contact from Trump and Vance along with a wave of Truth Social posts vaguely threatening Indiana Senators. Several Senators were “swatted” with false police reports at their homes. Eventually Senate leaders capitulated under this pressure and announced that they would convene to bring the vote to the floor.

Hoosier Voices Defeat Trump’s Demands for Redistricting

The final votes played out over the first two weeks of December, with Republican legislators under constant scrutiny from constituents. On December 1, the Indiana House gaveled in to consider new maps. Republican representatives were greeted with more than 500 Hoosiers on three floors of the Statehouse in the south atrium. After the rally, people stood in the hallways outside the House chambers chanting their opposition to redistricting. (Indy Star: Redistricting Rally at Statehouse 12-1-25)

As expected, the House voted to accept the legislation. The Senate was scheduled for December 8. On that morning, without any formally planned action, another 500+ people showed up outside the Senate chambers. The presence of constituents was a constant throughout the week, with Hoosiers meeting individually with Senators; providing testimony; and vocally representing during the debate and vote. On the state’s official livestream, those voices audibly registered the jeers and cheers of Hoosier voters as the maps were finally voted down. Indy Star Video: Anti-redistricting Protesters Chant Outside Senate Chamber 12-08-25 

Republican Senators who voted against purely political gerrymandering of Indiana’s congressional districts may face a difficult 2026. Trump and Braun have both threatened to strip Indiana of federal funding and to attack those Senators in the spring primary elections. 

Hoosiers recognize the risks that Republican Senators took and appreciate their vote. Elected legislators should represent their constituents. Republicans who voted against redistricting honored the voices of a bi-partisan majority of Indiana voters who understood that redistricting was an attack on the Indiana electorate.  

On the afternoon of December 11, Hoosier voters defeated Trump’s takeover of our state’s electoral integrity. Indivisible Central Indiana deeply appreciates the thousands of Hoosiers who spoke out during this campaign as well as the other partners in our anti-redistricting coalition who mobilized those Hoosiers and provided the forums in which they did speak so effectively to their elected legislators.