Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg will be returning to Indiana to join the Indiana Democratic Party in a rally against mid-decade redistricting at the Statehouse this week.
Last month, Indiana Republican lawmakers met with Vice President J.D. Vance and other Trump administration officials in Washington D.C. to discuss how to advance the president's agenda, including on the topic of redistricting.
Indiana lawmakers have voiced more support for redistricting in the weeks since the meeting. At the inaugural Hoosier Leadership for America Summit on Sept. 13, state Republican lawmakers Rep. Craig Haggard, Rep. Matt Commons and Rep. Andrew Ireland framed redistricting as a battle for the nation.
Though Republicans have mainly looked to U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan's district in the northwest corner of the state as a target, the lawmakers at the Noblesville summit, including U.S. Sen. Jim Banks of Indiana, urged a plan that would turn all of Indiana's districts red.
Gov. Mike Braun has not yet called the special session that would allow the legislature to redistrict, possibly because he has not yet secured the votes to ensure its success. Lawmakers said Saturday that calling a session before getting enough Republican support would be a "total waste."
The governor's office has been relatively quiet on the matter, Haggard said, and legislative leaders have been similarly opaque.
Buttigieg served as Secretary of Transportation during President Joe Biden's administration and is a former U.S. Naval officer and South Bend mayor. He currently lives in Traverse City, Michigan.
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The Indiana Democratic Party is encouraging supporters to come out at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 18 for the hour-and-a-half free event targeting "gerrymandering."
The rally will be on the second-floor atrium, and organizers are asking people to arrive early for a security screening. People can sign up at mobilize.us/indems/event/841351.
Jade Jackson is a public safety reporter for the Indianapolis Star. You can email her at [email protected] and follow her on X, formerly Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON.