Northwest Indiana no longer would comprise its own congressional district under the partisan redistricting plan unveiled by House Republicans Monday, the first day of the 2026 Indiana legislative session.
The new map, set for potential House approval as soon as this week, splits the current 1st Congressional District of Lake, Porter and northwest LaPorte counties — a community of interest centered on the Lake Michigan shoreline served by U.S. Rep. Frank J. Mrvan, D-Highland — into two pieces that sprawl east nearly to Ohio.
Under House Bill 1032, the new 1st District would contain all of Lake County; 5½ townships in southern Porter County, excluding most of Valparaiso; four townships in southern LaPorte County; and all of Starke, Marshall, Pulaski, Fulton, Cass, Miami and Wabash counties.
Northern Porter and LaPorte counties would become part of the 2nd District, which also is slated to include all of St. Joseph County, an oddly-shaped slice of Elkhart County, and all of Kosciusko, Noble and Whitley counties.
No one can possibly argue the new districts are compact. The distance from Hammond, located in the far northwest corner of Lake County, to La Fontaine, in the far southeast corner of Wabash County, is approximately 150 miles, passing along the way Knox, Plymouth, Winamac, Rochester, Logansport, Peru and Wabash, all of which would be in the new 1st District.
Similarly, Portage would be in the same congressional district as Kendallville, 106 miles to the east on U.S. 6. Kendallville actually is closer to Toledo, Ohio, on Lake Erie, than it is to Portage on Lake Michigan, but both would be part of the new 2nd District, along with South Bend, Warsaw, Albion and Columbia City.
Newton and Jasper counties would remain in the 4th District. But it would run beyond the western Indianapolis suburbs and into the north side of Indianapolis itself, putting Fair Oaks Farms in the same congressional district as the tony Fashion Mall at Keystone Crossing.
Altogether, Marion County would be split among four congressional districts, including one going all the way to Kentucky, one touching the Ohio border and one reaching to Illinois.
The goal, according to redistricting advocates, is to give Republican candidates a chance at winning all nine districts in next year's congressional elections in the hope of preserving the slim GOP majority in the U.S. House and preventing Democratic-led oversight of Republican President Donald Trump.
Republicans currently control seven of Indiana’s nine U.S. House seats (78%) — as well as 80% of the seats in the Indiana Senate and 70% of the Indiana House — even though Trump and Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Banks won only 59% of Indiana’s vote in the 2024 general election, and Republican Gov. Mike Braun earned just 54% of the statewide vote.
"Hoosiers deserve to have fair representation in Washington and now the General Assembly needs to deliver a 9-0 map which will help level the playing field," Braun said.
House Democrats attempted several procedural maneuvers Monday to try to stall or stop the GOP redistricting legislation but each move was overwhelmingly blocked or defeated by the Republican supermajority — despite enthusiastic support from hundreds of Hoosiers rooting against redistricting just outside the House doors.
Though the inevitable redistricting lawsuit may look back at whether the House even legally was in session because the chamber unanimously agreed Nov. 18 to return Jan. 5, and schedule changes only can be made by the House speaker with the consent of the minority party leader, according to House rules.
State Rep. Ben Smaltz, R-Auburn, said a state statute trumps that rule. But Democrats pointed out the statute appears to require both the House and Senate reconvene simultaneously on an alternative date, and the Senate is not scheduled meet until Dec. 8.
"We have rules that govern this House and we should follow them," said House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne.
GiaQuinta also suggested the proposed new maps will make Hoosiers worse off by breaking up communities with shared interests and stretching districts far and wide merely for a perceived partisan advantage.
"This won't lower the cost of living. This won't make life more affordable for Hoosiers. In fact, these maps will make it harder to get by. Most Hoosiers will already tell you that government does very little for them. How does being lumped in a district with Hoosiers in vastly different regions with vastly different concerns make government work better for constituents? It doesn't," GiaQuinta said.
State Rep. Blake Johnson, D-Indianapolis, noted under the pending maps, which he described as an "egregious gerrymander," four of Indiana's congressmen could live in Indianapolis, and they may choose to prioritize issues important to capital city residents over the concerns of rural Hoosiers.
"This map obliterates the very concept of communities of interest," Johnson said.
The Smaltz-sponsored redistricting legislation, which contains provisions limiting the ability of Indiana courts to halt implementation of the new maps, is scheduled for a six-hour hearing at the House Committee on Elections and Apportionment beginning at 8 a.m. Region time Tuesday.
The 13-member panel, consisting of nine Republicans and four Democrats, includes state Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie; and state Rep. Carolyn Jackson, D-Hammond.
If the plan is approved by the committee, the new maps then would be on pace for a potential final House vote as soon as Thursday.
It's believed there's still insufficient support in the Senate to redraw Indiana's congressional district boundaries even if new maps are approved by the House.
In fact, Senate opposition seems to be strengthening as some redistricting advocates continue employing the tools of terrorism to try to compel outspoken, anti-redistricting Republican state senators to change their minds.
"On Friday, Nov. 28, my family and I received threats of a bomb placed at our home. My family and I are safe, and law enforcement is currently investigating the threats made against us," said state Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores. "This recent pattern of threatening behavior and intimidation attempts are not only concerning, but also illegal. I hope to see justice for this type of behavior."
State Sen. Jean Leising, R-Oldenburg, said her home also was the target of a pipe bomb threat Saturday.
"This is a result of the D.C. political pundits for redistricting," Leising posted to her Facebook page. "Hoping that legislators will not cave to the negative texts, phone calls, swatting, bomb threats, etc.! We have to do what is right for our Indiana constituents."
Indiana's congressional districts were last redrawn in 2021 to adjust for population shifts identified by the once-a-decade U.S. Census.
A new map must be approved by a majority vote in both the House and the Senate to advance to the governor to be signed into law or vetoed.
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