Indiana giving MAGA +2 reps

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The author of Indiana’s new congressional redistricting bill acknowledged the maps are “politically gerrymandered” during committee questioning Tuesday but defended the proposal against accusations of illegal racial gerrymandering.

The maps, released Monday morning, were drawn “purely for political performance” of Republicans, Rep. Ben Smaltz told indignant Democratic colleagues on the House Elections and Apportionment Committee.

It was the House’s only public hearing on the maps — and was held with less than a day’s notice.

Over about three hours, 43 Hoosiers spoke against the proposal and two in favor, excluding several state lawmaker witnesses. The meeting featured ominous testimony from Marion County’s Democratic elections chief and Republican former Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann.

The committee voted 8-5 to advance Smaltz’s House Bill 1032 to the floor, with one Republican joining Democrats in opposition.

Legal arguments
The current districts, drawn by the GOP in 2021, are 7-2 in favor of Republicans.

The House and Senate GOP worked with the National Republican Redistricting Trust to engineer a likely 9-0 sweep of the districts — as sought by President Donald Trump ahead of the 2026 midterms.

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