Bray won’t seek another term as Indiana Senate leader after redistricting fallout

Eight months after Indiana senators rejected President Donald Trump’s congressional redistricting push — and about three months after six Republican incumbents paid for that opposition in primary defeats — Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray announced Friday that he will give up the chamber’s top leadership position.

Bray, R-Martinsville, said he will not seek reelection as president pro tem when Senate Republicans choose their leaders in November. The decision reverses his declaration in May that he intended to remain in the position he has held since 2018.

He will continue leading the Senate and overseeing its day-to-day operations until a successor is selected after the November election. He also plans to remain in the Senate, where his current term representing District 37 runs through 2028.

His announcement directly cited promises to recruit and fund primary challengers against senators who support his bid for another leadership term. Bray said he would not put members of his caucus at risk merely for backing him.

“Serving as the President Pro Tem of the Senate for eight years has been among the most significant honors of my life, but it’s time for the Senate to choose another leader,” Bray said. “Our caucus has led the way in numerous policy areas, passing laws that resulted in more than 20 tax cuts, initiatives to lower the cost of health care, laws that resulted in a sharp increase in literacy rates in our schools, and measures that ushered in record capital investment through 2024. That’s a track record I will always stand behind, and I’m incredibly proud to have accomplished this work as the Pro Tem alongside my distinguished colleagues.”

Senate Democratic Leader Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, thanked Bray for his service in the leadership role in a Friday statement.

“Senate President Pro Tem Bray led the Indiana Senate with integrity and a steady hand,” Yoder said. “I respect his commitment not just to his constituents, but to all of Indiana as he served in leadership over the last eight years. Although he is stepping down as President Pro Tem, I wish him the very best as he continues to serve District 37.”

In June, Sen. Chris Garten, R-Charlestown, resigned as Senate majority floor leader, the chamber’s No. 2 Republican post. Garten backed Trump’s redistricting push and has been considered a possible candidate to succeed Bray.

In his June resignation letter, Garten said the floor leader position required alignment with leadership’s strategic direction — “an alignment I no longer maintain.” He did not immediately respond to the Indiana Capital Chronicle’s request for comment on Friday.

The leadership shakeup follows an intra-party split over Trump’s demand that Indiana redraw its congressional boundaries in the middle of the decade to improve the GOP’s chances of winning all nine of the state’s U.S. House seats.

Bray repeatedly said last fall that the proposal lacked enough support among Senate Republicans. When the measure came to a vote in December, 21 Republicans joined all 10 Democrats to defeat it 31-19. Bray was among the Republicans to vote against the new map.

Indiana Senate’s No. 2 Republican steps down from post after split from Bray

The defeat came despite months of lobbying and public pressure from Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Gov. Mike Braun and national conservative groups. Trump repeatedly attacked Bray and other opponents and redistricting supporters promised political consequences for senators who refused to support the plan.

Those threats materialized during the May Republican primary.

Six incumbent senators opposed by pro-redistricting forces lost to Trump-endorsed challengers: Travis Holdman of Markle, Jim Buck of Kokomo, Linda Rogers of Granger, Dan Dernulc of Highland, Rick Niemeyer of Lowell and Greg Walker of Columbus. A Trump-backed candidate also won an open-seat primary.

Only Sen. Greg Goode of Terre Haute emerged as a certain winner among the eight incumbents targeted by pro-redistricting groups. One other redistricting opponent maintains a three-vote margin in a recount.

Bray was not on the May ballot.

The president pro tem sets Senate priorities, appoints committee chairs and assigns bills to committees. The position also serves as the top political and administrative leader for the majority caucus.

Senators select a president pro tem every two years following the general election. Republicans currently hold a 40-10 supermajority in the chamber, making the choice of the Republican caucus decisive.

Bray, an attorney, was first elected to the Senate in 2012, succeeding his father, former Sen. Richard Bray. Senate Republicans selected him as president pro tem in 2018 after longtime leader David Long retired.

In Friday’s announcement, Bray pointed to tax cuts, health care measures, literacy gains and economic development wins during his tenure. His office also highlighted laws restricting land ownership by foreign adversaries, barring transgender girls and women from female school sports, tightening election laws and imposing a near-total abortion ban.