POV: At Indiana Statehouse Org Day as House keeps redistricting alive
It was a busy ceremonial first day of the 2026 legislative session as redistricting and other major topics took center stage.
Though the Indiana House plans to reconvene to talk about redistricting on Dec. 1, there are two things that could get in the way: making quorum, and overcoming the fact that Republican leaders appear to have broken a House rule.
Per House rules, Republican legislative leaders should have gotten approval from House leadership in order to convene in December. Democrats say they never signed off on the change, but House leaders maintain they’re still following state law.
Either way, the House needs a two-thirds vote to meet in order to take up redistricting. If all Democrats are on the same page in their opposition, and with just 70 Republicans in the House, only five could break from the party, and the House would not be able to move forward with redistricting in December.
Should either of these things happen, it would only be the latest whiplash Indiana has experienced with regard to President Donald Trump’s request to redraw the state congressional map mid-decade, in order to give Republicans more favored seats before the 2026 midterm elections.
How we got here
State leaders held out for months, even with two visits from Vice President JD Vance and a mounting pressure campaign from the White House. Then Gov. Mike Braun called for a special session to redistrict in October, even though Senate President Rodric Bray insisted his chamber didn’t have the votes to make it successful. But the two legislative leaders came up with a date anyway: They would convene during the first two weeks of December for redistricting.
Then on Nov. 14, Bray reversed course and said the Senate would not show up since the votes weren’t there. This seemed to solidify on Organization Day Nov. 18, which kicked off the 2026 legislative session. Both the House and Senate chambers agreed to a concurrent resolution that set their return date on Jan. 5.
House Speaker Todd Huston, in a harbinger of what was to come, nonetheless told his members to keep their December calendars open.
On Nov. 25, he formally announced his chamber would be convening Dec. 1. Minutes later, Bray again switched up and said his chamber, too, would convene and a week later and vote on whatever map the House sends over.
Why lawmakers aren’t following the House’s rules
Therein lies the rule issue. The time and date that the House reconvenes can be changed from what was in that concurrent resolution from Organization Day, but only “with the agreement of the Speaker and minority leader,” the House standing rules say. House minority leader Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, said there was no such agreement, and it’s his position that the House should reconvene on Jan. 5 as written.
“The speaker called me this morning and said we will be going in Dec. 1,” he said on Nov. 25. “I did not agree to that.”
Even if lawmakers aren’t following their rules, they would be following state law by meeting on a different date than planned as long as enough lawmakers are present. A spokesperson for Huston pointed to the provision in state law that enables lawmakers to meet “either on a certain day fixed by concurrent resolution or when the gavel of each house falls in the presence of a quorum.”
It’s also not unusual to suspend House rules, but it too can only be done with a two-thirds vote.
Huston has said his chamber has the votes to pass a redistricting measure, but that’s because they just need a simple majority, or 51 members. Establishing quorum and suspending rules is a higher bar.
A House Democrat is focusing on the quorum issue in particular, calling out five Republicans by name and urging them to deny quorum on Dec. 1.
“I’m just saying, for the period of time where there’s a quorum call, people may be busy,” said Rep. Mitch Gore, D-Indianapolis. “I’ll pick listening to the people and showing some backbone over allowing my constituents to get ripped off by a 9-0 gerrymander.”
The five Republicans Gore is publicly naming are Reps. Becky Cash, R-Zionsville, Dave Hall, R-Norman, Danny Lopez, R-Carmel, Hunter Smith, R-Zionsville, and Ed Clere, R-New Albany.
Clere, Lopez and Cash have stated publicly or on social media that they are opposed to redistricting. Hall and Smith have not made clear their positions.
“If they really oppose redistricting, it’s up to them to deny a quorum,” Gore said.
But Clere sees it a different way, saying in a statement to IndyStar that a walkout is not the answer to stopping redistricting because “it’s not constructive.”
“Mid-cycle redistricting is harmful to both the legislative institution and to democracy more broadly,” he said. “A walkout would only deepen the existing partisan divide and further undermine the legislative institution.”
Likewise, Lopez and Cash said they will be there on Dec. 1.
Through spokespeople, the other Republican representatives did not respond to requests for comment.
The pressure has been intense around the redistricting debate. Voters in certain districts have been targeted with texts and calls from various nonprofits supporting redistricting. And some of the pressure has turned dark: At least seven state senators have received some kind of violent threat since Organization Day, including some incidents of swatting, which is when a person calls in a false tip that prompts a large law enforcement response. Even Braun has received “credible threats,” his office said.
There’s also the threat of primary challenges against lawmakers who vote against redistricting. Trump has openly called for this; at least one such challenger has already emerged in Republican state Sen. Spencer Deery’s West Lafayette district.
This story may be updated.
Contact IndyStar Statehouse reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on X @kayla_dwyer17.
