LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Now to Indiana, where the state Senate is convening in a special session this week. Senators plan to vote on new political maps that would help Republicans capture all nine of Indiana's seats in Congress.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
It's the latest in an unprecedented wave of mid-cycle redistricting spurred by President Trump's demands to boost his party's chances in next year's midterms.
FADEL: NPR congressional reporter Sam Gringlas joins us now from Indianapolis. Hi, Sam.
SAM GRINGLAS, BYLINE: Hey, Leila.
FADEL: So lots of states - right? - are doing this mid-cycle redistricting in this kind of tit for tat. Why is Indiana so notable?
GRINGLAS: Well, first, it is high drama. We do not know what's going to happen here. Currently, Indiana is represented by seven Republicans and two Democrats. The proposed map would dismantle those two heavily Democratic districts. Even many Republican lawmakers have pushed back despite a lot of pressure from Trump and his allies. So if this effort fails, it's a huge rebuke. And if it passes, Democrats could be wiped out from Indiana's delegation.
FADEL: So a lot at stake here. You're there in Indianapolis. What are you seeing at the state capitol?
GRINGLAS: Hundreds of protesters with handmade signs packed the hall outside the Senate yesterday. The protesters opposed to redistricting were chanting so loudly that senators could hear it inside the chamber. A hundred and twenty-seven people signed up for public comment. I met one of them, Leon Bates.
LEON BATES: Franklin said democracy is a wonderful thing if you can keep it, and here we are. We may be watching it slip away right before our eyes.
GRINGLAS: Bates told me his predominantly Black community will be chopped up. The new map will divide Indianapolis into four, so a voter in the city could soon be in a district that stretches 150 miles to Kentucky.
FADEL: Wow. So remind us why this redistricting push is happening now.
GRINGLAS: Normally, new maps are drawn after a census, but Trump has pushed Republican-run states to redraw before the midterms. Voter Gregory Cantor (ph) told lawmakers that Republicans have to do what they can to keep the House.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
GREGORY CANTOR: It's a choice between the president your voters elected 60-40 having a full term or being a lame duck, fighting endless nonsense impeachments and investigations.
GRINGLAS: So now some Democratic-controlled states are trying to redistrict, too.
FADEL: Now, Republicans control Indiana's Legislature. So why is passing this new map not a sure thing?
GRINGLAS: A lot of Republicans have heard from constituents that they do not want this. The top Senate Republican initially rebuffed holding a session, saying the votes just weren't there, but Trump amped up the pressure, even calling out undecided members by name. Some Republican senators, like Greg Walker, faced threats of violence. Last night, he said relenting in his opposition would have been like accepting a bribe and said the stakes really crystallized for him recently as he held a constituent's baby.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
GREG WALKER: As I thought about the future for that child, where we accept that intimidation is normal. And I shall refuse the offer for the sake of that child in the future of the state.
FADEL: You can really hear the emotion in his voice. Does it seem like this new map will become law?
GRINGLAS: The map already passed the House and advanced out of a Senate committee last night, but the Indiana Senate majority leader told us we're all going to find out what will happen when the Senate votes later this week.
FADEL: NPR congressional reporter Sam Gringlas in Indianapolis. Thank you, Sam.
GRINGLAS: Thanks, Leila. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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