Demonstrators gather outside Indiana GOP Fall Dinner as state legislature’s special session on redistricting looms

INDIANAPOLIS — Demonstrators gathered outside the Indiana Roof Ballroom Monday night as state Republicans met up for their 2025 fall dinner event in downtown Indianapolis.

The event featured appearances by Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters and Indiana Governor Mike Braun.

Protestors outside the dinner’s venue indicated that they were there, in part, because Braun announced a special session of Indiana’s legislature on Monday morning. State lawmakers are expected to consider redrawing Indiana’s congressional maps during the session.

“This is the GOP dinner,” protestor Bill Smith said in an interview with FOX59/CBS4. “And Braun called for a vote on redistricting five years early. It’s supposed to happen every 10 years with the census. It doesn’t make any sense.”

While protestors gathered outside the Indiana Roof Ballroom, notable Republican lawmakers walked past them, including congressman Jefferson Shreve, who represents Indiana’s sixth district, which currently encompasses territory as far north as the south side of Indianapolis, as far south as Columbus and as far east as Richmond.

In a statement he provided upon announcing the special session, Braun indicated that redistricting will help ensure Hoosiers have fair representation in Washington D.C.

“I am calling a special legislative session to protect Hoosiers from efforts in other states that seek to diminish their voice in Washington and ensure their representation in Congress is fair,” Braun wrote in his prepared statement. “I am also asking the legislature to conform Indiana’s tax code with new federal tax provisions to ensure stability and certainty for taxpayers and tax preparers for 2026 filings.”

The special session Braun called is expected to begin on Nov. 3. During Monday’s protest outside the GOP Fall Dinner, demonstrators chanted their opposition to the special session with phrases like “hands off our maps,” “no redistricting” and “fair representation.”

Demonstrators also brought signs with them that had phrases like “No to ‘gerry-pandering'” and “you’re on the wrong side of history.”

Photos of protestors outside Monday’s Indiana GOP Fall Dinner.

Word of Braun’s Monday announcement began to matriculate through the State of Indiana over the weekend. On Saturday, the Indianapolis Business Journal reported that Braun was expected to call a special session. A Sunday article from FOX59/CBS4 verified the IBJ’s report.

Braun’s announcement capped months of speculation that Indiana would pursue redistricting via a special session of the legislature. That speculation was fueled by a call President Donald Trump participated in with state lawmakers.

Vice President JD Vance also visited Indiana two times this year to discuss redistricting with Braun and others. Vance hosted a group of about 50 Indiana lawmakers at the White House in August.

Indiana currently has nine seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Seven of those seats are occupied by Republicans. Andre Carson and Frank Mrvan are the lone Indiana Democrats in the House of Representatives. Carson and Mrvan represent portions of Indianapolis and Northwest Indiana, respectively.

All seven of Indiana’s Republican members of the House of Representatives have voiced their support for redistricting efforts. The group participated in a seemingly coordinated effort to support calls for redistricting on Aug. 18. At that time, Victoria Spartz, Shreve and others took to social media to push for continued redistricting efforts in the Hoosiers State.

Public support for redistricting from both state lawmakers and the Hoosiers who elected them seems to be in question. An Oct. 9 poll indicated that 53% of Hoosiers do not support redistricting efforts.

Last week, Indiana’s senate Republicans also suggested that they may not have the votes required to redraw the state’s congressional maps mid-decade.

“They’re districting midterm — that’s cheating,” Smith said during Monday’s protest. “They’re taking away the votes from people who need them. They’re trying to eradicate all Democratic districts in the state.”

According to a report from The Associated Press, Indiana is among at least nine states that are considering or have adopted redrawn congressional maps. Texas, Missouri and North Carolina have already adopted new congressional maps. Court-ordered redistricting is also due to take place in Utah.

Per the AP, national redistricting efforts have been influenced by Trump, who seeks to help Republicans maintain control of the House of Representatives through the 2026 midterm elections.

Some Democrat-controlled states like Colorado, Illinois, Virginia, Maryland and New York are also considering new congressional maps. Officials in the State of California have introduced a new map.

Indiana’s Democrats have denounced the state’s push for mid-decade redistricting. In August, some of the state’s Democrats traveled to Illinois to support a group of Texas Democrats who had been in the Land of Lincoln to stave off a vote on Texas’ then-proposed and now-approved redrawn congressional maps.

More reaction to Braun’s Monday redistricting announcement is available here.