The dynamics among statehouse Republicans and Democrats will likely shift as Democrats gain more seats and Republican leadership changes ahead of the legislative session.
After Tuesday’s election results, Indiana Democrats flipped 15 seats in the House as of Wednesday night, breaking the Republican supermajority that has lasted over a decade at the statehouse. The Senate also lost Republican seats. Some races are still too close to call.
House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne) said he expects this means his caucus will be taken more seriously going forward.
“We pride ourselves on being pragmatic problem solvers, so we're going to work and reach across the aisle where we can, and we try to take on serious issues and find solutions to those problems,” GiaQuinta said.
Republicans still retain majority power in the statehouse in both chambers but with their gain in numbers, Democrats will have more members on committees and can influence policy decisions more than before.
Breaking the supermajority means Republicans can no longer act alone on certain major decisions, including overriding a governor’s veto.
Political science professor at Indiana University Indianapolis, Aaron Dusso, said he believes Indiana Democrats rode a wave of nationwide sentiment.
“In a lot of ways, it's a rising tide raises all ships kind of situation,” Dusso said.
He said President Donald Trump’s low approval numbers, the war with Iran and national concerns around affordability have all created a perfect storm for Democrats to gain more ground with Indiana voters this election.
Indiana’s own blue wave took out a few long-time Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Bob Behning (R-Indianapolis) who has been a leader in state education policy since first elected in 1992.
Rep. Ed Soliday (R-Valparaiso), who has served in his seat for the last 20 years, was also unseated by his Democrat challenger, Ryan Kominakis.
Both Republicans and many Democrats expressed surprise at Tuesday’s election results, which also put two statewide offices in the hands of Democrats.
Democrat Beau Bayh declared victory in the Secretary of State race Tuesday and Jessica Bailey announced victory in the Comptroller race Wednesday.
But at the Statehouse the race has flipped a number of statehouse and senate seats that felt reliably safe, including that of Speaker of the House Todd Huston. Huston conceded Wednesday to Democrat Lauren Cole, saying he was disappointed by the results.
"This was an incredibly challenging midterm election, and ultimately the national headwinds were too difficult to overcome in a number of our races,” Huston said in a statement. “It's been the honor of my life serving Hoosiers in Hamilton County and across our great state.”
The loss caused House Republicans to scramble to determine new leadership Wednesday, eventually nominating Rep. Ben Smaltz (R-Auburn).
Smaltz was one of the chief architects and supporters of Indiana’s redistricting push last year.
Speaking with reporters, Smaltz said that under his tenure, Republicans would keep their focus on affordability.
“We're sent here by the Hoosiers that want a better life, that want things to be affordable, that want high-paying jobs, that want a strong economy, and we're going to focus on that,” Smaltz said.
When asked if the House would take up redistricting again, Smaltz said that was unlikely.
“I'm not sure that's an issue that's important to Hoosiers right now, and we're focused on doing what's important for them,” Smaltz said.
Rep. Matt Lehmen (R-Berne) has been named House Majority Leader and Rep. Jake Teshka (R-North Liberty) is to serve as Majority Caucus Chair.
House Democrats decided to reelect GiaQuinta as House leader, Rep. Cherrish Pryor (D-Indianapolis) as minority floor leader and Rep. Carey Hamilton (D-Indianapolis) as minority caucus chair.
In the Senate, Republicans moved forward with Chris Garten (R-Charlestown) as their choice for Senate President Pro Tem, a position he announced he would seek after Rodric Bray announced his decision to step aside earlier this year.
Bray’s decision came as a result of a Republican primary where many of his party who opposed President Trump’s redistricting push last year were ousted. Bray was among those who opposed Trump but his term runs through 2028.
Garten’s race has not yet been officially called by the Associated Press. The Clark County Republican has a roughly 300-vote lead over Democratic challenger Nick Marshall. But Marshall has said he’s still waiting for more votes to come in before making a decision about the race.
“We've been on the phone this morning trying to figure out exactly where those votes are or if anything is left over,” Marshall said in a call with WFYI.
That move potentially puts Garten, who has made decisions about Senate leadership, in an awkward position.
On Wednesday, Garten announced Sen. Eric Koch (R-Bedford) as Majority Floor Leader.
GiaQuinta did not share on Wednesday any specific policy proposals or priorities that his caucus will pursue next legislative session but said there focus will remain on affordability issues.
Professor Dusso says Democrats now have a lot of work ahead of them if they want to keep up this momentum for the 2028 election.
“The reality is that they need to build on this in a way that they can, make a public show, essentially show to Indiana and Hoosier voters that they can do something and that they have an agenda that people could get behind,” Dusso said.
The ceremonial beginning of the 2027 legislative session, known as Organization Day, is on Nov. 17.
Contact Government Reporter Caroline Beck at cbeck@wfyi.org
Contact Government Reporter Benjamin Thorp at bthorp@wfyi.org
