Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Indiana Senate Republicans say they do not have votes to pass mid-cycle redistricting despite a pressure campaign from the White House, according to a spokesperson for Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe votes aren\u2019t there for redistricting,\u201d said Molly Swigart, Bray\u2019s spokesperson.<\/p>\n
The news comes just days after President Donald Trump held a phone call with reluctant members<\/a> of the caucus, according to two people close to the sensitive talks. It threatens to upend what has been a nationwide push from the White House to force red states to redraw maps ahead of the midterms.<\/p>\n A person briefed on the talks said Indiana Gov. Mike Braun was inclined to call a special session to redo the state\u2019s maps as early as next week. A spokesperson for Braun did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n The people briefed on the issue, granted anonymity to discuss the status of vote wrangling, said the White House conducted a dial-in poll of lawmakers that revealed the majority of Senate Republicans backed mid-cycle redistricting. But one senator cautioned POLITICO that colleagues were confused by the instructions for the survey because the administration did not provide guidance on how to move forward.<\/p>\n One Trump ally close to the talks, granted anonymity to discuss the issue, said the White House believed the poll showed the majority of the holdout caucus supports mid-cycle redistricting. But they cautioned that Bray and his leadership team represent the majority of no-votes.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Bray would personally release his leadership to support this, there would be enough votes for this to pass,\u201d the person said.<\/p>\n The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. <\/p>\n Indiana House Republicans are more broadly supportive of the plan after caucusing Tuesday and emerged from those talks with enough votes to move forward with redistricting if a special session is called, according to a third Republican briefed on the matter.<\/p>\n Allies to the White House, such as Sen. Jim Banks<\/a> (R-Ind.), have warned control of the House<\/a> rests on whether Indiana can produce two additional Republican-held congressional districts by redoing the maps.<\/p>\n