Indiana House Republicans pick new leader after big election losses

Indiana Senate Republicans, meanwhile, confirmed their pick of Sen. Chris Garten as the chamber’s next president pro tempore.

By: Tom Davies, Niki Kelly

Outlets: Indiana Capital Chronicle

Published: November 4, 2026

Words: 1,144

Last Updated: 3 days, 3 hours ago

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The Republican lawmaker who led the Indiana congressional redistricting push last year was picked Wednesday as the next leader for the state House of Representatives.

A drastically reduced Republican House majority elected Rep. Ben Smaltz of Auburn as speaker-elect — a day after House Speaker Todd Huston lost reelection and Democrats picked up an apparent 16 seats in the chamber.

Senate leadership …

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