{"id":16979,"date":"2025-12-20T12:17:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T12:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/this-indiana-democrat-wants-a-redistricting-ceasefire\/"},"modified":"2025-12-20T12:17:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T12:17:11","slug":"this-indiana-democrat-wants-a-redistricting-ceasefire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/this-indiana-democrat-wants-a-redistricting-ceasefire\/","title":{"rendered":"This Indiana Democrat wants a redistricting ceasefire"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

As Republicans in his state\u2019s legislature considered joining a Donald Trump-backed effort to redraw congressional maps<\/a> in the GOP\u2019s favor, Rep. Frank Mrvan kept quiet.<\/p>\n

The new lines would have doomed the low-key Democrat representing Indiana\u2019s northwest corner, but only now \u2014 after Republicans in the state Senate roundly rejected the Trump push \u2014 is he speaking out with a message for both parties: It\u2019s time to lay down arms<\/a> on redistricting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not believe all-blue and all-red states benefit anyone,\u201d Mrvan said in an interview. \u201cWe need to have unifying factors that bring our country together again, like lowering health care costs and being able to make sure that when someone goes to a grocery store, they can afford beef and provide for their families and have safe communities. I don’t know if it’s a priority to manipulate maps for one party or the other to be in the majority.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Indiana\u2019s attempt at mid-decade redistricting is now in the rearview mirror, other states have not ruled it out. The GOP-controlled Florida legislature is now exploring new maps<\/a>, but so are the Democratic majorities in Maryland and Virginia. Both parties are also closely watching a forthcoming Supreme Court decision on the Voting Rights Act that could prompt new maps in southern states.<\/p>\n

After Trump kicked off the mid-cycle redistricting push by prodding Texas Republicans to draw new lines that could oust as many as five Democrats in 2026, many House lawmakers aired private concerns about the disruptive and divisive process that was not guaranteed to net GOP seats in the midterms. Many fewer spoke out publicly, given fear of retribution from Trump.<\/p>\n

Now a growing number of Democrats are eager to exact revenge. California Gov. Gavin Newsom pushed through a ballot measure that will allow Democrats to offset the Texas losses, but some are eager for more \u2014 with Mrvan among the few who have been willing to say that would be a bad idea.<\/p>\n

Rep. Andr\u00e9 Carson, the other Indiana Democrat whose district was at grave risk in a redistricting scenario, defended the blue states that are still looking to act, saying it was \u201call a reaction to what happened in Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy hope is that this will inspire other legislative bodies to push back against Donald Trump’s very extremist agenda that is helping himself but hurting Americans,\u201d Carson said. Pressed on blue-state redistricting, he said those legislatures \u201care going to have to make that decision on their own.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carson and Mrvan among a dwindling number of midwestern Democrats in an increasingly coastal caucus who just survived a political near-death experience. The fact is, they might have only gotten a temporary reprieve: Post-census redistricting just six years away could put them in peril once again.<\/p>\n

Mrvan has already been targeted by national Republicans, winning a costly 2022 race by about 6 points. But he described working quietly behind the scenes to convince statehouse leaders that drawing him out of his seat would be a bad idea.<\/p>\n

The 31-19 final vote killing the proposal<\/a> didn\u2019t have anything to do with pressure from him, Mrvan emphasized, but he had been in touch with GOP state senators who had been victims of harassment including \u201cswatting\u201d incidents<\/a> to check on their safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it was very clear they were going to vote their conscience and what they believed in, and there is no inside track that they were sharing with me the process and what was going on,\u201d he said \u2014 while also personally thanking four<\/a> GOP<\/a> state<\/a> senators<\/a> in his district who opposed the redraw \u201cfor their act of courage and for unifying our state.\u201d<\/p>\n

One message Mrvan did send, he said, was that \u201credistricting would not benefit the state of Indiana.\u201d As the only Hoosier on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, he argued, his ouster would \u201ctake away that leverage\u201d in Congress on major state projects requiring bipartisan cooperation.<\/p>\n

He cited recent indications from the owners of the NFL\u2019s Chicago Bears that they could relocate the team from its longtime lakefront stadium just over the state line to Mrvan\u2019s district<\/a>. \u201cWe’re already gathering in a bipartisan way to say we welcome the Bears,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Carson said he, too, took a soft-touch approach \u2014 remaining in communication with GOP members of the congressional delegation and state legislators but allowing them \u201cthe freedom and the sovereignty that they have to make decisions, because it is their body.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut all hands were on deck,\u201d Carson added.<\/p>\n

Both Democrats also said they were in touch with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries starting over the summer as the redistricting push began. Carson recalled that Jeffries pledged support and resources and was \u201csensitive\u201d to the dynamics of the fight as a former state legislator.<\/p>\n

In the end, Carson said, a respectful approach and Indiana\u2019s distinctly midwestern political culture won out over national browbeating<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve said all along, Hoosiers do things very differently,\u201d he said. \u201cThe majority of Hoosiers did not agree with this new unfair map, and Hoosiers made sure the statehouse knew it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Republicans in his state\u2019s legislature considered joining a Donald Trump-backed effort to redraw congressional maps in the GOP\u2019s favor, Rep. Frank Mrvan kept quiet. The new lines would have doomed the low-key Democrat representing Indiana\u2019s northwest corner, but only now \u2014 after Republicans in the state Senate roundly rejected the Trump push \u2014 is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-congress"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16979\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}