UPDATE (10/29/25): In a statement from Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston, a Republican from Fishers, Huston said that the Indiana General Assembly has up to 40 days to conduct legislative business in a special session.
“Given the calendar and member availability, we will not be convening on Nov. 3 but are working within this general time frame as we consider the schedule,” the statement read. “During the 2022 special session, the Governor called the General Assembly into session on July 6, the Legislature convened on July 25 and session ended on Aug. 5. Additionally, the General Assembly is statutorily required to convene for Organization Day on Tuesday, Nov. 18, which is the official start of the 2026 regular session.
“As always, our goal is to accomplish our work in a way that is most efficient and cost-effective for Hoosier taxpayers,” Huston’s statement continued. “Our plan is to have a legislative schedule out as soon as possible.”
Officials with the Indiana Senate Republicans also said that the Indiana Senate is working to determine the scheduling availability for the special session.
In response to Huston’s statement, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun provided the following statement on social media:
“I appreciate the leadership of Speaker Huston and House Republicans as they prepare for the upcoming special session. The momentum and support across the General Assembly have become clear and I’m confident their thoughtful and responsible approach will lead to a successful outcome. I look forward to working closely with our colleagues in both the House and Senate to address these important issues and ensure Hoosiers continue to have strong representation in our nation’s capital.”
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Original Story Below:
INDIANAPOLIS — After months of discussions surrounding redistricting, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun has announced that a special session will take place next month.
According to a news release from Braun’s office, Braun’s team said that he is expected to sign a proclamation on Monday, calling for a special session for the Indiana General Assembly.
The special session will convene on Nov. 3 and will center around “altering the boundaries of Indiana’s congressional districts and to consider resolving an important issue regarding federal and state tax compliance that must be addressed,” according to the release.
According to previous reports, federal Republicans have encouraged the state of Indiana to change their maps ahead of the 2026 midterm election cycle. Officials aim to eliminate the state of Indiana’s two Democratic seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Republicans believe that this push would help give Republicans an easier path to a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Over the last few months, Vice President J.D. Vance traveled to Indianapolis twice to talk with lawmakers about redistricting, Indiana state Republican lawmakers traveled to Washington, D.C. to talk about the topic and President Donald Trump joined in a phone call surrounding the topic.
On Oct. 22, officials with the Indiana Senate Republicans said, “the votes aren’t there for redistricting.” Following that statement, Braun said that while the votes are not currently there, they are “getting very close.”
“It’s going to happen soon if we’re going to do it,” Braun said on Oct. 22. “There’s been a lot of jawboning from the White House with senators, especially, so we’re getting close.”
In an update from the Indiana Senate Republicans on Monday following the special session announcement, a spokesperson said that the “votes still aren’t there for redistricting.”
Officials with the Indiana House Republicans confirmed with FOX59/CBS4 that the caucus has enough votes to redistrict mid-decade.
A poll recently commissioned by Independent Indiana shows that the majority of Indiana voters oppose the redistricting efforts. According to previous reports, 53% of Indiana voters who responded to the poll oppose the redistricting push, while 34% support the idea.
In a statement on Monday, Braun provided the following statement on the session:
“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. 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.”
As for the tax portion of the special session, the release said that Indiana uses federal tax law as the starting point for the state’s tax return. Officials said the recent changes to federal tax law, included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, include changes that impact state tax filings.
“Addressing this discrepancy through a special session will provide taxpayers, accountants, and businesses the confidence and clarity ahead of filing season, avoid amended returns and filing delays, and continue the Indiana Department of Revenue’s strong record of fiscal management,” the release said.
Prior to the special session being called, Indiana Democrats at both the state level and the national level spoke out against the redistricting efforts, with some calling it “morally corrupt” and unethical.
While the special session is scheduled to start on Nov. 3, lawmakers do not have to come back to the statehouse that day. Hannah Adamson, the FOX59/CBS4 statehouse reporter, reports that per statute, lawmakers will have 30 session days, or 40 calendar days, to complete the official business for the special session.
Reactions to special session being called
After Braun called a special session on Monday, Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston, a Republican from Fishers, provided the following statement:
“We’ve received the Governor’s call for a special session and will continue having conversations within our caucus and with our counterparts in the Senate on our next steps.”
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said in a post on social media that he fully supports the special session being called.
“We’ve been clear from the start that redistricting should happen and are ready, once the new map gets across the finish line, to defend it in court,” Rokita said in the post.
Lana Keesling, the chair of the Indiana Republican Party, praised Braun’s decision to call a special session, stating that if the state is to have “fair representation” in the U.S. House of Representatives, redistricting is “an absolute necessity.”
“I am confident our Republican House and Senate majorities will deliver for their constituents on this issue,” Keesling said, “and I am proud to give them my absolute support in doing so.”
Following Braun’s announcement, Indiana Senate Democrats called the session “illegitimate,” “a national disgrace” and an “assault on democracy.”
“Polling after polling. Event after event. Conversation after conversation. Hoosiers of all parties have made it clear they do not want this. The people said no — loudly, clearly and repeatedly,” Senate Democratic Leader Shelli Yoder from Bloomington said in the release. “It has taken months of backroom deals, arm-twisting and out-of-state threats against Hoosiers just to get this far. And even then, they had to fold to national bullies to do it. That is not leadership. That is cowardice.
“They could have chosen to govern. They could have chosen to lead. Instead, they chose to cheat,” the statement continued. To weaponize our statehouse for a power grab nobody asked for and everybody sees straight through… Let’s call it what it is. An orchestrated attack on democracy itself.”
State Senator Andrea Hunley, a Democrat from Indianapolis, stated that she is committed to pursuing “every legal avenue to stop the map-rigging scheme and guarantee fair representation for Hoosiers.”
“As a sixth-generation Hoosier, raising seventh-generation Hoosiers, I refuse to stand idly by and see my daughters inherit a world where we have lost hard-fought progress,” Hunley said in the statement. “…We have seen thousands of people show up time and time again demanding that their elected officials remember that their job is to serve Hoosiers. These folks will not forget if their state representatives, their state senators and their Governor sell them out for political favor with the president.”
Phil GiaQuinta, the House Democratic Leader from Fort Wayne, said in a statement that all Indiana House Democrats oppose the push for redistricting.
“Our state government is owned by Washington, D.C., instead of the people who should actually drive its decisions: Hoosiers. Washington, D.C. is broken and dysfunctional,” he said. “Why would we listen to them when Hoosiers oppose mid-decade redistricting?
“The House and Senate still can lead with courage and common sense by rejecting the governor’s call,” GiaQuinta’s statement continues. “There is no requirement that we pass new congressional maps just because Republican Gov. Braun caved to D.C. elites. I am grateful to Hoosiers who have voiced their opposition to this scheme. Hoosiers can stop these new maps from passing. There are massive problems in Indiana that demand leadership and action from the Statehouse, like property taxes, utility bills and health care costs. Our congressional districts are not one of them. Let’s keep the focus on Hoosiers and reject this effort from out-of-state elites to change the rules of the game at halftime.”
As one of the Indiana members of the U.S. House of Representatives who could be impacted by this special session, U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Ind., District 1, released a statement on Braun’s decision to host a special session.
“As working families are facing skyrocketing energy costs, the loss of health care and food assistance programs, rising local taxes, and cuts to public safety, it is unsurprising that Governor Braun has chosen to convene a special legislative session on mid-decade redistricting at the request of President Trump,” Mrvan said. “The only thing more unpopular in Indiana than redistricting is the Governor himself. His attempt to silence the very voters he represents is yet another example of how out of touch he is with the people of our great state.
“If the General Assembly moves forward with this partisan plan, I will continue to be a fighter for fairness, working with Republicans and Democrats alike to defend the voices of working families,” Mrvan continued. “I believe that representation should be earned through ideas and service, not political manipulation. My record of working cooperatively to create work and wealth for Indiana families will not be deterred. I will continue to fight for working families, expand economic opportunity, protect access to health care, support public safety, stand with our friends in organized labor, strengthen our farms and invest in our shared future. I am focused on getting results, not playing politics.”
U.S. Rep. André Carson, D-Ind. District 7, the other Democrat from Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives, also commented on Braun’s decision to call a special session, stating:
“Hoosiers have said they don’t want redistricting. Indiana Republican lawmakers have said they don’t want redistricting—until the Trump administration bullied them into it. I have faith in the leaders who have chosen not to succumb to these blatant political threats and encourage them to stay strong. It’s more important to have a pat on the back from your constituents instead of a pat on the head from a lame duck president.”
In a statement from Karen Tallian, the Indiana Democratic Party chair, she said that this session is a “partisan power grab.”
“What are Hoosiers supposed to think about this? At best, Braun has been brow-beaten, changed his mind, and finally kissed the … ring … of the man who would be King,” Tallian said. “Or, maybe Braun is telling the Republican Senators that they, not him, will take the blame for any retribution that the White House has been doling out. Or, perhaps, most unsettling of all, Braun lied to us from the beginning.”
In a statement from the Indiana Conservation Voters organization, officials said that they believe the only people pushing for the new maps “live 600 miles away in Washington D.C.”
“For more than two months, Hoosiers have made it clear they don’t want Washington outsiders dictating how our state is represented. Thousands have sent emails and called the Governor asking him not to do this,” the statement read. “They want lawmakers focused on issues like rising energy costs, inflation and taxes. Our current maps are fair and competitive and were drawn just a few years ago using a transparent process. The Governor wants lawmakers to throw out their own hard work and replace it with a map that’s being crafted by political operatives in Washington, D.C. That’s not how we do things here, and lawmakers still have a chance to do right by Hoosiers. They can keep the maps they drew four years ago and get back to focusing on issues that actually matter.”
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
