Pierce Reacts to National Push to Redistrict Congressional Lines
Rep. Pierce Reacts to National Push to Redistrict Congressional Lines
INDIANAPOLIS – A Democratic State Representative believes President Trump is pressuring Republicans to redistrict their states because the president and the party is losing popularity.
“President Trump is clearly running scared,” said State Rep. Matt Pierce (D-Bloomington) on Tuesday. “He fears the voters who are rejecting his unpopular policies: raising prices for American families with his import taxes, taking health care away from millions of Americans and increasing the number of hungry children, all to give tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans.
This comes ahead of Vice President J.D. Vance’s visit to Indianapolis on Thursday to meet with Indiana Governor Mike Braun and other state leaders to discuss redistricting. Gov. Braun has not ruled out calling a special session to redraw Indiana’s congressional maps.
President Trump has recently called for Republican states to redistrict in order to increase the number of GOP seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Rep. Pierce called President Trump and Congressional Republicans “arrogant” for this “political power grab” of gerrymandering the state of Indiana.
“He wants to thwart the will of the people by rigging the next election,” Rep. Pierce said of President Trump. “They’re upfront about the fact that they’re willing to cheat to win the midterm elections.”
Redistricting has become a hot topic over the past few days.
Democrats in Texas fled their state for Illinois in order to break quorum and prevent a vote on a redistricting plan from happening. The Texas House then voted to issue arrest warrants for the dozens of Democrats who fled. Republican Governor Greg Abbott ordered state troopers “to locate, arrest, and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans”.
Rep. Pierce is now asking if Governor Braun and Indiana Republican leadership will go along with President Trump’s wishes.
“Will they put the interests of Hoosiers before the Congressional Republicans or cave to the demands of President Trump. We will soon find out if they have the courage to tell President Trump, ‘No.’ Democrats are in a knife fight for democracy, and we’ve got to act like it,” Rep Pierce said.
The Indiana Democratic Party also released a statement about Indiana Republicans considering a change to congressional lines ahead of the 2026 midterms and VP Vance’s Indiana visit.
“Indiana Republicans are so afraid of the voters that they are willing to rig the elections to drown Hoosiers voices,” said Chair Karen Tallian. “Indiana is already one of the most voter-suppressed states in the nation. Sending the Vice President here to beg for another Congressional seat is beyond absurd. Hoosiers need to stand up against this blatant undermining of democracy.”
