It would be understandable if Gov. Mike Braun called the Indiana General Assembly into an early session to find ways to feed hungry families in a state where more than a million Hoosiers face food insecurity, according to Feeding America.
That situation is intense right now in Terre Haute and elsewhere. The ongoing government shutdown has not only disrupted SNAP benefits, but made it difficult for federal employees working without pay, including those serving in the military, to feed their families.
That’s a good reason to call state legislators to the Statehouse earlier than normal.
Or, Indiana’s governor could assemble lawmakers for extra duty to figure out ways to help 180,000 Hoosiers facing the loss of health care coverage through the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). That uncertainty stems from federal cuts to Medicaid in the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” as President Donald Trump calls it.
Also affected are Hoosiers who could be priced out of coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace because of the loss of subsidies that lessen the cost of premiums.
That problem would be a legitimate reason for an early session of the Legislature.
But no. The session that will commence in Indianapolis from Dec. 1 through Dec. 12 has a far, far less important impetus — the political whims of one man, Donald Trump.
That’s it. A president fears his Republican Party will lose its majority in the U.S. House in the 2026 midterm election, meaning Trump would then be subjected to our nation’s constitutional system of checks and balances of power. His worry has a real basis.
Historically, the party in control of the White House and Congress tends to lose seats in the U.S. House, and Senate, when midterm elections roll around, two years into a president’s term. Democrats gained 41 House seats in the 2018 midterm, halfway through Trump’s first term, marking their biggest gain since the Watergate era. Republicans surged similarly in 2010, early in President Obama’s first term, adding 63 House seats.
And here’s the key takeaway — that’s what voters wanted in 2010 and 2018. They went to the polls, cast ballots and produced changes in their representation.
Trump wants his state lawmakers to block such voters from doing that in 2026. He wants his party to indulge the scheme to redraw congressional boundaries to help ensure Republicans win more House seats next year. Yes, that tactic — known as gerrymandering — has been used by both parties through American history. But the redrawing of those borders comes through an orderly, once-every-10-years redistricting process, after the U.S. Census figures are compiled, as outlined in the U.S. Constitution.
Instead, Trump is pressuring red-state lawmakers, including those in Indiana, to etch new boundaries six years ahead of the prescribed time. His aim is to have all nine of Indiana’s congressional seats occupied by Republicans. The GOP already holds a 7-2 advantage, which is more lopsided than the actual political leanings of Hoosiers. Trump got 58% of Hoosiers’ votes in his 2024 victory, while just under 40% voted for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
Trump, Braun, state senators and representatives are supposed to serve all Hoosiers, and consider those residents’ concerns and needs. This mid-decade redistricting would dilute the voices of at least 40% of Indiana folks.
It might actually be more. A survey by Bellwether Research, conducted late last month and early this month, found that 51% of 800 Hoosier respondents opposed the mid-decade redistricting, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle. And, 72% said lawmakers should spend their time reducing property taxes and energy bills, and making communities safe, rather than redistricting. Only 39% supported the premature redraw. So, the lawmakers have a simple choice — appease Trump’s ploy to avoid two-party accountability, or focus on the people’s real needs.
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