By Sydney Byerly
The Indiana Citizen
August 3, 2026
Sen. Chris Garten launched a campaign Monday for the chamber’s top leadership post, promising a more aggressive conservative agenda than the man he is seeking to replace, outgoing Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray.
The Charlestown Republican’s announcement comes three days after Bray – facing backlash over his opposition to President Donald Trump’s mid-decade redistricting effort – said he would not seek to retain his position after November’s election.
Garten on Aug. 3 also unveiled the lawmaker he wants at his side if chosen by Republicans to lead the Senate. He said he would appoint Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, as Senate majority floor leader, calling him “an elite strategist, an accomplished attorney, and a deeply respected leader with judgment beyond reproach.”
Koch returned the endorsement, saying Garten understands that “a supermajority is not self-sustaining — it has to be earned every cycle and held together every day of session.” He said the pair would focus on listening to members, empowering the Republican caucus and advancing a conservative agenda “with discipline and purpose.”
Because the majority floor leader is appointed by the president pro tempore rather than elected by the caucus, Koch’s elevation would occur only if Garten wins the leadership race.
“Our caucus stands at a defining moment, and the challenges ahead demand bold, focused leadership,” Garten said in a statement announcing his candidacy. He argued Hoosiers did not send Republicans to Indianapolis “to play defense or simply maintain a status quo” but to pursue what he described as a “conservative, Indiana First agenda.”
The announcement comes after months of growing tensions within the Republican caucus over the Senate’s direction.
Garten resigned as Senate majority floor leader in June, writing to colleagues that the position “requires a seamless alignment with the current strategic direction of leadership — an alignment I no longer maintain.” Bray had appointed him to the leadership post in 2022.
The divide became especially visible during last year’s fight over House Bill 1032, a failed effort to redraw Indiana’s congressional districts mid-decade.
Garten and Koch both voted in favor of the proposal, which supporters argued would strengthen Republicans’ chances of holding onto their slim majority in the U.S. House in November’s midterm elections. HB 1032 reconfigured Indiana’s two Democratic congressional districts to turn the two blue seats red and give GOP candidates the advantage to sweep all nine of the state’s seats on Capitol Hill.
During Senate debate, Garten called the vote “of critical, epic proportion,” arguing Republicans had both “the constitutional right and … the moral obligation” to redraw the maps.
“It’s not just about lines on a map,” Garten said. “It’s a vote … that will define Indiana’s role in the recovery of this republic.”
He blamed the former President Joe Biden’s administration for the nation’s immigration and fentanyl situation, praised Trump’s border policies and said Indiana had been asked by national Republicans to help preserve those gains.
“The White House, our partners in Washington, have asked us for help,” Garten said in December, dismissing criticism that lawmakers were taking the unprecedented step of redrawing congressional districts between census cycles.
The bill ultimately failed after Bray joined 20 other Republicans and all 10 Senate Democrats in opposing it. The vote sparked criticism from Trump and other conservative leaders, while Gov. Mike Braun warned lawmakers there would be political consequences. Trump later publicly called on Bray to resign.
Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith quickly endorsed Garten’s leadership bid after Bray announced he would step down.
“In my opinion, he’s the only one that really has the leadership prowess in the Senate to really make the Indiana Senate a nationally recognized powerhouse when it comes to bold, conservative vision,” Beckwith told FOX59/CBS4.
Beckwith was not the only Republican to quickly line up behind Garten. Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, endorsed the Charlestown Republican on social media, writing that “now is the time to unite to get strong conservatives elected this fall” and pledging she was “100% behind my friend Chris Garten for Senate President Pro Tem.” Brown said strong leadership would allow Senate Republicans to “hit the ground running in January advancing an Indiana First agenda.”
Brown’s endorsement carries additional significance because, like Garten, she also stepped away from Senate leadership in the wake of the failed congressional redistricting effort. Brown resigned as assistant president pro tempore in December after lawmakers rejected the mid-decade map.
The Indiana Senate Democratic Caucus was contacted for comment on Garten’s candidacy, his legislative record and the direction of the Senate under potential new leadership but did not respond.
Garten has increasingly positioned himself as a leader of a more aggressive, Trump-aligned wing of the caucus. Throughout his legislative career, he has sponsored or championed many of Senate Republicans’ highest-profile conservative priorities, including legislation expanding immigration enforcement, prohibiting ranked-choice voting, defining sex in state law as male and female, banning students from using their school-issued identification when voting, and making Indiana school board elections partisan.
Garten has also ignited controversy beyond his legislative agenda. On Christmas Day in 2025, he faced national criticism after posting a series of AI-generated images on social media showing himself in a fictional fight with Santa Claus. The images accompanied a message criticizing “bureaucratic overreach” and “unfunded mandates,” but critics questioned the use of violent imagery involving a figure associated with Christmas. Garten defended the post as a joke created with his children and dismissed the backlash as excessive.
Koch, who chairs the Senate Utilities Committee, has likewise aligned himself with many of the caucus’s conservative priorities. He represents Senate District 44, covering Brown, Jackson, Lawrence and Orange counties and part of Monroe County.
So far, no other state senator has publicly announced a bid for Senate president pro tempore.
Senate Republicans are expected to choose their leadership team after the Nov. 3 general election, when the makeup of the 2027 caucus is finalized. At least nine current Republican senators are not expected to return next session because of retirements or primary defeats – several at the hands of Trump-backed challengers taking on incumbents who opposed redistricting – making the leadership election one of the most consequential in years.
Sydney Byerly is a political reporter who grew up in New Albany, Indiana. Before joining The Citizen, Sydney reported news for TheStatehouseFile.com and most recently managed and edited The Corydon Democrat & Clarion News in southern Indiana. She earned her bachelor’s in journalism at Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism (‘Sco Griz!).
The Indiana Citizen is a nonpartisan, nonprofit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed and engaged Hoosier citizens. We are operated by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. For questions about the story, contact Marilyn Odendahl at marilyn.odendahl@indianacitizen.org.
