INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana representatives will have major roles in the certification vote on Wednesday when the Electoral College vote takes place in front of a joint session of Congress.
Sen. Mike Braun (R-Indiana) has announced plans to object to the certification and Vice President Mike Pence will be overseeing it all as the President of the Senate.
An Indiana historian is also weighing in on their roles and what it means for their legacies and the state of Indiana.
From Washington to Indiana, the pressure is on for the vice president. During a rally, President Donald Trump spoke about his expectations for Pence.
"I hope that our great vice president...our great vice president comes through for us," he said in Georgia.
Pence is supposed to preside over the certification of the 2020 election.
Early tweets from Capitol Hill news source "Roll Call" quoted Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and suggested he, and not Pence, would oversee the vote.
But hours later, Grassley's office clarified: Pence would attend.
It means a history-making moment for Indiana.
First with Pence and then with Braun among the ranks of a dozen Republican senators vowing to object to the certification of President-elect Joe Biden.
"Hoosiers have always loved their politics, and I think it's perfectly fitting. I think what you see in people like Mike Pence and Mike Braun are two people who are so tied at the hip to Donald Trump, that they really don't feel like they have any other action but to profess that loyalty," said Ted Frantz, a professor and political historian at the University of Indianapolis.
Frantz said he understands the passions behind closely decided elections but said the senators who believe they are taking a page from the contested election of 1876 and the Compromise that followed are misreading history.
He called the outcome back then and now political.
"It is hard to imagine someone looking back 20 years from now, 40 years from now on what is likely to transpire tomorrow and to say those 12 who are likely to object were on the right side of the issue," said Frantz, who believes the objections are really about pleasing the president's base of support for future political support.
13News has made more than a half-dozen attempts to speak with Braun. His office has yet to respond. Voters also want to know where Sen. Todd Young (R-Indiana) stands.
"I would love if they did, because principle matters. On the other hand, I think they have a lot to lose by doing so," explained Frantz on the unwillingness of the lawmakers to speak out.
Young's camp told 13News it would release a statement after the certification vote.
To date, Rep. Andre Carson (D-Indiana) is the only member of the Indiana delegation to react to the developments. In a statement to 13News, he said, "Democracy only works when all parties accept the will of the voters."
It is important to note the Constitution does not grant the vice president the power to reject "fraudulent" electors as Trump tweeted on Tuesday.