Well, they didn’t do it.
When given an extreme map even by current standards, Indiana state Senate voted down the mid-decade gerrymander. The final vote was 31 no, 19 yes. Among the 31 noes were 21 of the 40 Republicans in the state Senate. This happened just an hour ago!
As I wrote before (and reprinted* in the Terre Haute Tribune-Star), this is actually in Indiana Republicans’ self-interest. The map would have moved 36% of Hoosiers into a new district - a major disruption. Despite radical threats from Trump to withhold federal aid from Indiana, and despite visits by Vice-President JD Vance, the state Senate left in place a map that elects two Democratic Representatives, including one from the city of Indianapolis. Indiana is now hedged against the probability that next year, Democrats will retake control of Congress.
With that, the redistricting wars are back at a stalemate, at least given current trends in public opinion.
It’s looking like the redistricting wars are slowing down, at least today. Some of this cooling may arise from recognition that control of Congress is slipping away in 2026. That’s a practical reason, not a principled one. But it’s still worth celebrating.
*I’m from Terre Haute long ago. It was a particular pleasure to publish in the hometown paper!
In these difficult times, we find relief in the least likely of places!
Definitely worthy celebrating. Thanks for the update and insight.