One day after Hoosiers broke the Republican supermajority in the Indiana House for the first time in 14 years, House Republicans chose the author of last year's Washington-driven plan to redistrict as their next speaker.
On Tuesday, House Democratic candidates earned roughly 100,000 more votes than Republicans statewide, flipping 16 seats and cutting a 70-30 supermajority to an expected 54-46 majority. The sitting speaker lost his own seat.
State Rep. Ben Smaltz (R-Auburn) carried the mid-decade redistricting bill pushed by President Trump, which carved up two Democratic-held districts to engineer a 9-0 congressional delegation. At the time, he acknowledged that map was politically gerrymandered. The bill passed the House over unanimous Democratic opposition before the Indiana Senate rejected it.
On virtually every effort by House Democrats during the 2026 legislative session to make life more affordable for Hoosiers, Smaltz voted no.
"Hoosiers sent a clear message on Tuesday to stop playing political games and get to work on the things that keep families up at night: grocery bills, healthcare costs, childcare and utility bills," House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne) said. "Two days later, House Republicans promoted President Trump and Gov. Braun's favorite legislator. Hoosiers voted 16 Republican representatives out of office on Tuesday because they wanted change. House Republicans just gave them more of the same."
Smaltz has never served a day in the House without a Republican supermajority, which let Republicans conduct business even when Democrats weren't in the room. That era is over. Because the Indiana Constitution requires two-thirds of members present to do business, Republicans can no longer move a bill without Democrats at the table.
"The speaker decides which bills get a hearing and which ones die in a drawer," GiaQuinta said. "The days when the Indiana House serves as a rubber stamp for the White House and the governor's office are over. We'll work with anyone serious about lowering costs for Hoosier families, but we were sent here to be heard, and we won't quietly accept business as usual."
The speaker will be formally elected on Organization Day on Tuesday, Nov. 17.