Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg calls for no special session at Statehouse rally agai

INDIANAPOLIS -- Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined several Democratic colleagues on Thursday to speak out against redistricting mid-decade at the Indiana Statehouse.




"Indiana Republicans are being pressured by Washington Republicans to do something they know in their hearts is wrong," Buttigieg said.




Buttigieg called on protesters with Republican state senators and representatives to let them know they oppose redrawing Congressional districts mid-decade. The White House has pushed state Republicans to do so in order to give Republican candidates an advantage ahead of the 2026 midterms.




Weeks after state Republican leadership met privately with President Donald Trump at the White House, both Indiana Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray and Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston have yet to share whether they'll agree to a special session.




"[Republicans] are hesitating, even with pressure from Washington, many haven't committed to the deed-that's where we come in," Buttigieg said. "If they do the right thing, we should give them credit for it."




Earlier this week, Gov. Mike Braun floated a potential special session timeline any time between early November and early January. When questioned about potential retaliation from the White House should Indiana choose not to redistrict mid-decade, the governor instead pointed to the actions of blue states as to why Indiana should enter a special session.




"My feeling is it probably will happen," Gov. Braun said during a press conference earlier this week. "There will be some other issues we talk about, but I'm going to let it happen at the pace that we put in place. I think we'll get there."




But several Statehouse Democrats said the silence from state Republican leadership gives them hope Republicans don't have the votes to redistrict early at this time.




"Only the most partisan Republicans support this move, and I think that these legislators are hearing from their own Republican bases asking why they even should be doing this," State Rep. Matt Pierce (D-Bloomington) said.




"I think the chances of stopping [a special session] are better," State Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) said. "Far from guaranteed-[Republicans] got the upper hand, they got the power-but I feel better than I did a few days ago."




FOX59/CBS4 has reached out to Republican leadership for several weeks for comment on where they stand on the redistricting debate. Last Wednesday, the Senate President Pro Tem said he did not anticipate any updates would be released this week.



via: https://fox59.com/news/politics/former-transportation-secretary-pete-buttigieg-calls-for-no-special-session-at-statehouse-rally-against-redistricting/