(Statehouse) – The Indiana Senate Majority Caucus voted to elect State Sen. Chris Garten (R-Charlestown) as their choice for Senate President Pro Tem.
Caucus members met Wednesday to elect its leadership team for the upcoming 2027 legislative session.
They unanimously selected Garten to take over for outgoing President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R-Martinsville).
Garten appointed State Sen. Eric Koch (R-Bedford) as Majority Floor Leader, while the caucus elected State Sen. Dr. Tyler Johnson (R-Leo) as Majority Caucus Chairman.
Meanwhile, House Republicans on Wednesday picked Ben Smaltz (R-Auburn) to serve as the new Speaker.
This comes after Todd Huston (R-Fishers) lost his re-election bid on Tuesday to Democrat Lauren Cole in a stunning upset.
House Republicans also tapped Rep. Matt Lehman (R-Berne) to serve as Majority Leader, and Rep. Jake Teshka (R-North Liberty) to be the Majority Caucus Chair.
Indiana Republicans no longer have the supermajority in the General Assembly after Tuesday’s General Election, but retain have the majority after winning most of the 29 seats that were open.
Local state representatives Lindsay Patterson (R-Brookville), Alex Zimmerman (R-North Vernon), Jennifer Meltzer (R-Shelbyville) and Garrett Bascom (R-Lawrenceburg), plus senators Randy Maxwell (R-Guilford) and Jeff Raatz (R-Richmond) all handily won re-election on Tuesday.
Lawmakers from both parties will be at the Statehouse on November 17 for Organization Day, which is the ceremonial start of the 2027 legislative session.
(Network Indiana contributed to this story)
