A senior member of the Indiana House has left Trump’s Republican Party

Indiana State Rep. Ed Clair, R-New Albany, speaks at a committee meeting on Jan. 23, 2024. (Leslie Bonilla Muniz/Indiana Capital Chronicle)

Republican Rep. Ed Clair has decided to leave the Indiana General Assembly after 18 years — and says President Donald Trump’s political changes pushed him out of the party.

Clare cited conflict over failed congressional redistricting sought by Trump as one of the reasons he did not seek re-election to his House seat this year. He plans to run as an independent candidate for Albany mayor in 2027.

Trump has endorsed five challengers for incumbent Republican senators in recent weeks after he vowed political retaliation against the men. Defied him on the redistricting bill.

One of those challenges, Bluffton City Councilman Blake Fitzgerald said he was surprised Trump’s support But Sean quietly filed his candidacy last week to run in the Republican primary against Travis Holdman, who is the third-ranking member of the chamber as majority caucus chairman.

Clare’s rocky road with Republicans

Clare, who first won his New Albany-based seat in 2008, announced his decision not to seek a 10th term representing Floyd County. News and Tribune Friday.

He has focused much of his legislative time on state social safety net efforts. He has criticized the Brown administration’s cuts to Medicaid, child care and food-assistance programs, he said last month. “Very Concerned About Conceptual Focus” Many state functions.

He was an early and outspoken opponent of the congressional redistricting push and was among them 12 GOP Republicans joined Democrats in voting “no” when the House cleared in December. The bill was defeated a week later in the Republican-dominated Senate.

Clare told the Indiana Capital Chronicle that the redistricting push is a “very clear and extreme example” of how “the toxic and divisive politics of Washington have made their way into Indiana.”

“Many Indiana Republicans wanted nothing to do with it, and saw how dangerous and destructive it was, but still felt they had to go along with it,” he said in an interview Sunday. “… I know a lot of other people who aren’t okay with it but most of them are just putting their heads down and hoping it all blows over.”

Clair has broken with fellow Republicans on several high-profile issues in recent years — voting against the 2022 abortion ban bill, the 2023 ban on transgender medical care for minors and the 2025 bill allowing partisan school board elections. All of them won legislative approval and became state law.

Clare lamented the party’s shift away from the politics of former Gov. Mitch Daniels — who held office when Clare was first elected to the legislature — and toward an embrace of divisive social issues.

“There’s still good law, but it’s not what it was when I arrived,” Clarey said. “It’s a very different focus and a very different atmosphere.”

Republican House Speaker Todd Huston’s office did not immediately comment on Clare’s announcement.

Clare said he told Houston of his decision last week and they had a “very cordial” conversation.

Clare said he plans to remain part of the House Republican caucus and serve out the remainder of his legislative term, which ends in November.

Leaders of the Floyd County Republican Party released a statement thanking Clair for his service, saying he has “stepped away from Republican values ​​by supporting legislation inconsistent with the Republican platform.”

Clere gained attention in 2015 because he advocated for legislation that would allow counties to start syringe exchange programs for intravenous drug users. A major HIV outbreak in Scott County in southern Indiana.

He lost his Chairmanship of Public Health Committee After that session, however, Claire counts the syringe program as her top achievement.

“That law has saved countless lives, prevented countless cases of infections, including HIV and hepatitis C, and it has gotten countless people into recovery programs,” he said.

A run for New Albany mayor in the 2027 city election will be Clair’s second attempt for the office. Democratic Mayor Jeff Gahan won his fourth term in 2023 as he received 52% of the vote in Clare.

Despite that mayoral loss, Clare easily retained his House district that covers most of Floyd County with 57% of the vote in 2024 and 60% in 2022.

Clare said his statehouse disappointment helped him look to another run for mayor.

“It’s not just about where I stand with the Republican Party, but where I believe I can be most effective,” he said.

A Trump-endorsed challenger makes the run official

Bluffton Council member Fichter filed his state papers Wednesday to run for state Senate against Holdman in the May primary.

That action came about a week after Trump’s social media endorsements were posted, with the president calling out Holdman. “Rino”—for Republicans in name only—and “America’s Last Politician” for opposing redistricting bills.

Fichter did not respond to phone and email messages from the Capital Chronicle.

A post on Fichter’s Facebook page about his candidacy said “We need a strong conservative and America First Senator representing us in Indianapolis and I am committed to being one.

He is a real estate broker who is serving his first term as an at-large member of Bluffton’s City Council after winning election in 2023.

He told The Indianapolis Star the day after Trump’s endorsement post that he was surprised by it and undecided about a Senate campaign.

Fichter described himself as a Trump supporters who generally favor congressional redistricting pushes.

Holdeman, who has been in the Senate since 2008, chairs the influential Taxation and Fiscal Policy Committee.

When asked by the Capital Chronicle last week The feature’s primary challenge, Holdman said, is “It’s part of the process.”

“I’ve known him for years, helped get him elected to the Bluffton City Council,” Holdman said. “We’ll see how it goes.”

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