Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray discusses details on the Senate Republicans’ bill priorities Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, ahead of the 124th meeting of the Indiana General Assembly at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis.

Indiana Senate Republicans do not have the votes to pass mid-decade redistricting despite a months-long campaign by the White House to secure two additional Republican seats.

That pressure culminated in a call from President Donald Trump on Oct. 17, where a dial-in poll was conducted. A majority of Republican lawmakers on the call indicated they support redistricting, according to Politico, with many of the holdouts among Senate leadership.

But, in order to get new maps passed without any Democratic support, Republicans would need more than just a simple majority of their members to support redistricting.

"The votes aren’t there for redistricting," said Molly Swigart, a spokesperson for Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville. She did not answer USA TODAY NETWORK questions seeking confirmation that a majority of Republican legislators supported redistricting or if efforts to change minds were ongoing.

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, however, is still pursuing redistricting efforts.

“I am still having positive conversations with members of the legislature," Braun, a Republican, wrote in an Oct. 22 post on X. "I am confident the majority of Indiana Statehouse Republicans will support efforts to ensure fair representation in congress for every Hoosier."

Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith had even stronger sentiments to share, calling the Senate a place "where conservative ideas from the House go to die" and urging his colleagues to "find a backbone."

Some Republican lawmakers and observers told the USA TODAY NETWORK that redistricting hesitancy stems from common-sense Hoosier values, believing Indiana politics is above the partisan fury that characterizes the national debate.

But not all Senate leaders have reservations about redistricting. Assistant Majority Floor Leader Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, made that clear in a post Oct. 22 on X.

Other proponents have described redistricting Indiana as part of a larger battle for the nation, seeing widespread Republican rule in the state as a mandate to help bolster Republicans' very slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Trump won 58% percent of the state in the last presidential election and seven of Indiana's nine U.S. representatives are Republican. The White House wants districts redrawn to dilute Democrats' votes in the bluest parts of the state: Indianapolis and Northwest Indiana.

Meanwhile, redistricting opponents have seized the opportunity to thank the Senate.

“We are grateful to members of the Senate who have listened to what Hoosiers across the state are saying loud and clear: mid-decade redistricting is unnecessary, unpopular and unfair," Indiana Conservation Voters Executive Director Megan Robertson said in a press release.

Nearly 20,000 Hoosiers contacted lawmakers to ask them to oppose redrawing the maps, according to the press release. Multiple polls have shown a majority of Hoosiers do not support redistricting mid-cycle.

Contact Marissa Meador at mmeador@gannett.com or find her on X at @marissa_meador.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana state Senate Republicans don't have the votes to push gerrymandering, yet

Reporting by Marissa Meador, USA TODAY NETWORK / Indianapolis Star

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