Indiana moves into 2017 with Republican supermajorities, governor

The Indiana Republican Party maintained control of a state government that looked susceptible to change just weeks ago, specifically in a gubernatorial race ultimately decided by a margin much wider than expected by political pundits.

Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb, who took over as the GOP's gubernatorial nominee in late July after Gov. Mike Pence joined the national ticket, defeated Democrat John Gregg with 51 percent of the vote compared to Gregg’s 45 percent.

Holcomb will move into the Governor’s office alongside a Republican-controlled General Assembly likely ready to transcend the controversies of Pence’s administration and focus on conservative policy.

Moving forward, Republican focus is expected to be on policies promoted during this year’s campaign season, said Indiana University Department of Political Science Chair Gerald Wright.

“It will be interesting to see how they read that as a mandate going forward and whether they will want to do more deregulation and cut taxes more and cut public services,” he said. “That would be my general grasp to the direction that they would be going if they’re true to their campaign promises, which I suspect they would be.”

While Wright noted the difficulty of translating campaign discussion to legislative agendas, he said Indiana was swept up in the fervor experienced by many throughout the country, highlighting the fact that statewide races tend to be heavily affected by the top of the ticket during presidential years.  

“The Republicans profited from that frustration,” said Wright, referencing the anger directed at “what they see as the national elites.”

Additionally, Wright said he expects Indiana’s past embrace of social issues, some of which led to national controversies, to subside, noting instead Republicans likely will look toward developing jobs and economic development.

“Overall, it doesn’t appear to me that social issues are really big this year,” he said. “People are much more concerned about a stagnating economy … Even an issue like gay marriage doesn’t seem very hot.

“Unless somebody really, like Pence, believes deeply and is hot under the collar for pushing a social issue onto the agenda, I wouldn’t think that would be happening.”

Adding to the conversation was Republican David Long (Fort Wayne), president pro tempore of the Indiana Senate, who downplayed the idea promoted by some that gerrymandering has helped Republicans achieve and maintain a supermajority.

Last month, a 12-member state study committee on redistricting recommended after two years of review a piece of legislation that would allow an independent commission to redraw districts in 2021, following the 2020 U.S. census.

State constitution currently requires lawmakers to draw the maps.

Instead, Long attributed the widespread victories to an increasingly conservative voter base in Indiana.

“Indiana is an increasingly Republican state and a conservative state, and I think we actually drew better districts than were there in the past, and we were fair about them,” he said. “Republicans who have come in on some hard-fought races have won them and won them with outstanding candidates.

“It’s more reflective of Indiana residents and their choices and not the way the districts were drawn.”

As for whether the General Assembly will adopt the recommendation, Long said elected officials will “see what the temperature is in the Statehouse for doing something with this.”

Lastly, Long said he doesn’t see any problem with the idea of maintaining a supermajority in state government.

“I think it depends on how you manage it,” he said. “I think we’ve been fair and respectful to the Democratic minority. We’re proud of our demeanor and how we handle ourselves. We have strong differences of opinions, but we discuss those opinions in a respectful and open way.”

Republican Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma (Indianapolis), who won re-election Tuesday, also said in an interview Wednesday  the resounding victory of President-elect Donald Trump helped down-ballot victories across the state.

Bosma said he saw the biggest impact in the northwest and western part of Indiana, where Republicans had seven races that “were on the bubble,” six of which were won by the GOP.

“I think the results were surprising for a lot of Hoosiers, including those of us in the political inside,” he said. “I don’t know if anyone thought the Trump train would make such a big stop here in Indiana.

“I had no trepidation about losing the supermajority. We never set out to have a supermajority, but the voters gave it to us. With that supermajority comes a super responsibility, and we will manage that well.”

In the next General Assembly session, Bosma said he will work with Holcomb, as well as Democratic colleagues in the Legislature, to adopt a responsible budget that lives within its means without adopting gimmicks. The speaker said he expects the budget to fund education and infrastructure while maintaining the state’s triple-A credit rating.

Alongside developing a sustainable, long-term infrastructure plan, Bosma said representatives will work with Republican Jennifer McCormick, who unseated Democrat Glenda Ritz as Indiana's state schools superintendent, to develop an efficient substitute for ISTEP and expanded pre-kindergarten programs to more counties and low-income families.

Bosma, noting he will sit down with Holcomb next week, said he fully anticipates Indiana having a seamless transition into 2017.

“Eric and I have been on the same team for nearly 20 years when he first ran for the House. We worked closely with him as part of the Daniels’ administration, and we continued to work with Eric and Gov. Pence as well,” he said.

“It’s going to be a seamless transition. I don’t think we’re going to have a rocky start at all with Eric when we’ve been working so long together.”