For most of President Donald Trump’s second term, Republicans have largely bent to his will. However, in two Midwestern states, Trump’s plan to maintain control of the U.S. House in next year’s election by having Republicans redraw congressional districts has hit a significant roadblock.
Despite weeks of campaigning by the White House, Republicans in Indiana and Kansas say their party doesn’t have enough votes to pass new, more GOP-friendly maps. This resistance has made the two states outliers in the nationwide rush to redistrict, where Republican-majority legislatures are either unwilling or unable to heed Trump’s call to help preserve the party’s control on Capitol Hill.
Lawmakers in Indiana and Kansas may still be persuaded to support redistricting. The White House push has included an Oval Office meeting for Indiana lawmakers and two trips to Indianapolis by Vice President JD Vance—and is expected to continue. But for now, this marks a rare setback for President Trump’s efforts to maintain a compliant GOP-held Congress after the 2026 midterms.
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### The Redistricting Push and Political Stakes
Typically, states redraw the boundaries of their congressional districts every 10 years, based on the most recent census data. But because midterm elections tend to favor the party not in power, Trump is pressuring Republicans to devise new maps that favor the GOP.
Democrats only need to gain three seats to flip control of the House, making the fight over redistricting a bruising and high-stakes battle. In response, multiple Democratic states are moving forward with their own new maps to counter any gains by Republicans. Virginia, for example, is expected to take up the redistricting issue in a special session starting Monday.
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### Indiana’s Hesitation Amid Redistricting Efforts
Indiana, whose House delegation includes seven Republicans and two Democrats, was one of the first states targeted by the Trump administration for redistricting this summer. However, a spokesperson for State Senate Leader Rodric Bray’s office confirmed that the chamber currently lacks the votes to pass new maps.
The Indiana Senate consists of 50 members, with just 10 Democrats, meaning more than a dozen Republicans are opposing the redistricting push. Bray’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The holdouts likely represent a mix of political philosophies. Some fear poorly executed new district boundaries could make solidly Republican districts more competitive. Others believe it is simply wrong to gerrymander to unfairly stack the deck.
“We are being asked to create a new culture in which it would be normal for a political party to select new voters, not once a decade but any time it fears the consequences of an approaching election,” said State Sen. Spencer Deery, a Republican, in an August statement. His office declined further comment, stating that the original statement stands.
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### Accusations of Partisan Gerrymandering
Supporters of the new maps argue that Democratic-run states—such as Massachusetts, which has no Republican representatives, and Illinois—have long used redistricting for partisan advantage through gerrymandering.
“For decades, Democrat states have gerrymandered in the dark of the night,” said Republican State Sen. Chris Garten on social media. “We can no longer sit idly by as our country is stolen from us.”
Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, who can cast tie-breaking votes in the state Senate, recently urged lawmakers to move forward with redistricting, criticizing them for not being sufficiently conservative.
“For years, it has been said accurately that the Indiana Senate is where conservative ideas from the House go to die,” Beckwith said in a social media post.
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### Indiana’s Cautious, Independent GOP
Indiana remains staunchly conservative, but its Republicans tend to practice a deliberate temperance.
“Hoosiers, it’s very tough to predict us, other than to say we’re very cautious,” said former GOP state lawmaker Mike Murphy. “We’re not into trends.”
Such squeamishness reflects an independent streak among voters in Indiana—and Kansas—that fuels a willingness among some Republicans to push back against Trump’s agenda.
Former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, a Republican, urged lawmakers to resist the push to redistrict.
“Someone has to lead in climbing out of the mudhole,” Daniels wrote. “Hoosiers, like most Americans, place a high value on fairness and react badly to its naked violation.”
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### Kansas Republicans Face Similar Struggles
In Kansas, Republican legislative leaders are attempting to bypass Democratic Governor Laura Kelly by forcing a special legislative session to address mid-decade redistricting. This would be only the second special session in the state’s 164-year history.
Governor Kelly opposes the mid-decade redistricting push and has suggested it could be unconstitutional. According to the Kansas Constitution, GOP lawmakers must secure a petition signed by two-thirds of both legislative chambers to force a special session—and also achieve supermajorities to override a likely veto from Kelly.
Republicans hold just four more seats than the two-thirds majority threshold in both the state Senate and House. However, even a defection of five Republicans in either chamber could sink the effort.
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### GOP Holdouts Stall the Special Session
Weeks after State Senate President Ty Masterson announced the push for a special session, GOP leaders continue to struggle securing the final signatures needed.
Among the dissenters is Rep. Mark Schreiber, who represents a district southwest of Topeka. He told The Associated Press that he has not and does not plan to sign the petition calling for the special session.
Schreiber believes redistricting should only reflect population shifts following the once-every-10-year census.
“Redistricting by either party in mid-cycle should not be done,” he said.
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### Targeting Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids
Republicans would likely target U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat representing Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District. The district includes the largely suburban Johnson County—the state’s most populous county—which has trended left since 2016, accounting for more than 85% of the district’s vote.
Kansas also has a sizable number of moderate Republicans, and 29% of the state’s 2 million voters are registered as politically unaffiliated. Both groups are prominent in Johnson County.
Republican legislators previously tried to redraw the district to weaken Davids’ chances of reelection, but she won in 2022 and 2024 by more than 10 percentage points.
“They tried it once and couldn’t get it done,” said Jack Shearer, an 82-year-old registered Republican from suburban Kansas City.
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### Some Support for Mid-Decade Redistricting in Kansas
Despite resistance, mid-decade redistricting has support among some Republicans in Johnson County.
State Sen. Doug Shane, whose district includes part of the county, believes his constituents would accept splitting the county between congressional districts.
“Splitting counties is not unprecedented and occurs in a number of congressional districts around the country,” Shane said via email.
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### Conclusion
The ongoing push for partisan redistricting in Indiana and Kansas highlights the complexities within the GOP and underscores the challenges President Trump faces in his efforts to maintain Republican control of Congress after the 2026 midterms.
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*Reporting contributed by Volmert from Lansing, Mich., Hanna from Topeka, Kan., and Associated Press writer Heather Hollingsworth in Lenexa, Kan.*
https://wtop.com/national/2025/10/trumps-redistricting-push-hits-roadblocks-in-indiana-and-kansas-as-republican-lawmakers-resist/