Since August, I’ve been a vocal advocate for redistricting Indiana’s congressional seats, and with time running out, it’s crucial that Governor Mike Braun calls the Indiana legislature into session quickly. This is about fulfilling the constitutional duty laid out by our Founding Fathers, who designed our government system to ensure power remains with the people through elected officials at every level.
The United States was founded on the principle of federalism, giving individual states significant authority to represent their citizens’ will. Our Founders knew the importance of this and granted state legislatures immense power to shape the direction of the nation in three key ways: 1) amending the Constitution, 2) selecting federal senators (a power we lost with the 17th Amendment, which I believe should be repealed), and 3) determining congressional district lines. Yet, in a departure from the Founders' vision, some states have outsourced this third responsibility to independent commissions, a move I’m certain they would not have approved.
Now, Democrat-controlled states are reconsidering this approach. Take California, for instance, where Democrats are trying to reverse their commission system to ensure they can send more progressive voices to Washington. Meanwhile, in Indiana, our state legislators—closest to the people they represent—are still the ones tasked with ensuring our values are fairly reflected in Congress.
Over the years, blue states have mastered the art of drawing congressional maps in ways that make it nearly impossible for conservative candidates to win, creating a lopsided playing field. Massachusetts, for example, has a similar voter balance to Indiana, with both states having a majority Republican electorate in Indiana and a majority Democrat electorate in Massachusetts. Yet, since 1996, every single U.S. House seat in Massachusetts has been held by Democrats. Why is that?
In 2024, President Trump won Indiana with 59% of the vote, while Kamala Harris took Massachusetts with 61%. Yet in Indiana, we have two congressional districts that are considered Democratic strongholds. Why? It’s a stark example of how redistricting in our state didn’t go far enough to balance representation, despite the best efforts of our legislature with the data available at the time.
The Trump administration began shedding light on the consequences of illegal immigration and its impact on the country, particularly in the way the 2020 census was conducted. There were significant issues with the census data and the litigation that followed, with the Biden administration providing numbers that we were forced to use. The Census Bureau, given its massive responsibility, operates with far less oversight than one might think. Indiana’s U.S. Senator Jim Banks has called for the release of the raw data, and I fully support that effort to bring transparency to the process, allowing us to fairly represent Hoosiers.
I believe Indiana can—and should—create new maps that will better reflect the state’s true political makeup. If Democrats truly believe in the effectiveness of their ideas, they should have no problem competing in all nine of Indiana's congressional districts. The reality, though, might be that Indiana’s voters are fed up with a small leftist minority trying to impose their radical ideologies on a predominantly conservative majority.
A small faction of voters thinks it’s acceptable for men to use women’s locker rooms, another group believes that abortion should be available up until the moment of birth in the name of reproductive choice, and a tiny segment thinks that another round of impeachment hearings for President Trump is in the country’s best interest. Hoosiers are tired of the "woke" agenda pushed by leftist-run states like California, New York, and Illinois. They want their values to be represented, and they want a fair system that reflects their will.
It’s time to act, and it’s time to ensure that every Hoosier has an equal voice in Washington. Let’s fix the system and give voters the representation they deserve.
