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Indiana Democrats focus on flipping state House seats, breaking GOP supermajority

Josh Lowry speaks behind a lectern during a press conference. Lowry is a White man with dark blonde hair, wearing a blue suit jacket over a white shirt.
Brandon Smith
/
IPB News
Josh Lowry, who ran for state Senate in 2022, is the Democratic candidate in a suburban Indianapolis state House district being vacated by retiring Rep. Donna Schaibley (R-Carmel).

The Indiana Democratic Party is focused on flipping at least four seats in the state House this year, which would break the supermajority Republicans have had for more than a decade.

Indiana Democratic Party Chair Mike Schmuhl said breaking the supermajority gives Democrats a greater ability to stop, slow or change what he calls “harmful” legislation.

And Schmuhl said his party can flip seats by providing voters with quality choices — candidates that are focused on solutions to real problems.

“I feel like you can only go so far as a political party before you kind of tip over. And I think that the Republican Party is very, very close to tipping over,” Schmuhl said.

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A focus of the party’s strategy is suburban districts around Indianapolis. Candidates like Josh Lowry said a key message is the need for greater accountability and transparency.

“Breaking the supermajority is healthy for democracy,” Lowry said.

Republicans have had a supermajority in the state Senate since 2010 and in the House since 2012.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state. He previously worked at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri and WSPY in Plano, Illinois. His first job in radio was in another state capitol - Jefferson City, Missouri - as a reporter for three stations around the Show-Me State.