INDIANAPOLIS — The political battle over redrawing Indiana's congressional maps is intensifying as Governor Mike Braun continues pressuring state senators to return to the statehouse in December to vote on what he calls fair maps.
The push continues after both the Senate and House voted Tuesday on Organization Day to adjourn until January, but House Speaker Todd Huston told his team to keep the first two weeks of December open.
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December 1 is when lawmakers were supposed to return to the statehouse to discuss redistricting. Huston has maintained that the House has the votes, but Bray has said the Senate does not.
"Rod Bray, I think, made the move when he came out and said they're not meeting, because there was so much momentum among his own caucus for doing it," Braun said. "He and his leadership team were never for it from the get-go. When the president has talked to you twice, the vice president's come in twice, I think he ought to probably be giving more deference to that or paying attention rather than just saying no."
Huston supports the redistricting effort, arguing Indiana cannot avoid the national political reality.
"Ultimately, I hope Congress takes action to prohibit mid-decade redistricting to ensure every state is operating under the same rules," Huston said. "But until that happens, Indiana cannot bury its head in the sand. This is not a question of whether we join the fight—the fight is already here."
However, Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray remains opposed to mid-cycle redistricting, preferring to focus on electing Republicans in existing districts.
"Many in my caucus, myself included, do not feel that redrawing our Congressional districts mid-cycle is the best way to achieve that goal," Bray said. "We would rather support efforts to elect a Republican in the existing 1st Congressional District, which has been trending Republican for the last several years and would give President Trump another Republican in Congress."
Time is running short for any redistricting efforts, as January 7 marks when filing opens for congressional candidates in Indiana.
"We had plenty of time until they started trying to run the clock out," Braun said. "That's when I called the special session."
Braun is vowing to explore all options to pressure senators, including potentially backing primary challengers against members of his own party.
"We're going to use all the things we can do to encourage them," Braun said. “That will be zeroing in, now that there's a public vote, that says they want to come back, half the caucus, but they were overridden because they had Democrats with the other 20 senators, and we're going to start working on that."
Braun sees momentum building for his position, noting House support and backing from half the Senate.
"I think the big news is House said they're going to and half the Senate is now publicly on board of wanting to do it," Braun said.
WATCH BELOW: More from our sit-down with Governor Mike Braun
