Gary’s Democratic lawmakers have spent 14 years in a Statehouse where Republicans could hold sessions, pass bills, and set the agenda without them. Starting in January, that changes.
For Democrats, who spent more than a decade powerless and unable to stop anything in the Indiana House, the change is largely a matter of math.
Last Tuesday’s Election Day results saw Democrats pick up 16 seats, leaving Republicans with a projected 54-46 majority. Republicans have held a two-thirds supermajority in the chamber since the 2012 election. That was enough to reach a quorum and do business with no Democrats in the room. Last session, they enjoyed a 71-29 advantage in the House.
State Rep. Earl Harris Jr., D-East Chicago, whose district includes parts of Gary, said the gains matter beyond the walkout option. Under the old numbers, he said, the occasional Republican who crossed over to vote with a Democrat couldn’t change the outcome.
“If four or five of them broke with their caucus and voted with Democrats, it didn’t mean anything because they still had the votes,” Harris told Capital B Gary. “Well, now that we’re closer, that means something.
“We as Democrats have more negotiation power and ability to work on things because our votes now have more meaning,” he added.
Harris points to projects the Northwest Indiana delegation secured even with Democrats in the super-minority — state money for the Gary/Chicago International Airport, the casino relocation that became Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana, and the Lake County convention center planned for Gary.
“Hopefully, this will continue to grow things in Gary as well as all Northwest Indiana,” he said.
The Indiana Black Legislative Caucus also has a new chair. Harris said his four years in the role have ended and that state Rep. Carolyn Jackson, D-Hammond, will lead the caucus. Harris said the caucus settled on utilities as its focus for the 2027 session and spoke with constituents about that during its town halls across the state this summer.
Harris said the Aug. 11 derecho and widespread outages that followed have since shaped the type of legislation they will file related to utilities for 2027.
He was less certain about whether Republicans will make a second attempt at mid-decade congressional redistricting after the Indiana Senate rejected a new map last year. Speaker-elect Ben Smaltz, R-Auburn, carried the redistricting bill in the House.
“Before Election Day, with the numbers what they were, I would’ve said definitely yes. Now that the numbers are different, I don’t know,” Harris said. He’s confident, however, that voters’ rejection of the effort was part of the message they sent at the polls. “If they do, then we will fight it again as we did previously.”
The majority that Republicans still hold makes the prospect of redistricting a reality, warns Laura Merrifield Wilson, professor of political science at the University of Indianapolis.
“I would expect the state legislature revisits the redistricting conversation, but with the sober reality for some that the stakes are high and the consequences are serious,” Merrifield Wilson told Capital B Gary.
“Otherwise strong incumbents fell to challengers, well-funded and endorsed with the presidential seal of approval, for seemingly nothing other than their opposition to redistricting off-cycle. They were threatened for that position, and the threat was realized when they lost in the primaries to those challengers,” Merrifield Wilson said. “The stakes are high, and the threats are very real — the reminder of what happened to colleagues is in the not-so-distant past and a warning to those who consider following the same path.”
Harris added that the bigger Democratic caucus now faces a new pressure of its own.
“More of us were elected as a message to say, ‘OK, we’re trusting in you. Do something,’” he said. “It’s important that we don’t fail on that.”
State Rep. Phil GiaQuinta, who will serve in his fifth term as Indiana House Democratic Leader, echoed Harris’ sentiments.
“Hoosiers voted for balance. House Democrats picked up 16 seats, and for the first time in 14 years, House Republicans will not hold a supermajority,” GiaQuinta said in a statement. “I’m proud to welcome our new members to a caucus that now has a real voice at the Statehouse, and I’m grateful to Reps. [Cherrish] Pryor and [Carey] Hamilton for continuing to serve in leadership alongside me.
“We don’t take this moment lightly. Voters didn’t send us here to keep score. They sent us with a clear message: They’re tired of what years of one-party rule have given them. They want groceries, rent, and utility bills they can afford. They want public schools that are fully funded. And they want data centers and Big Tech to pay their fair share of taxes.”
Organization Day, the ceremonial start to the new session, will be Nov. 17.
