The Indiana Senate’s top Republican leader, President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray announced Friday he will not seek re-election for the role. The announcement comes months after Bray was the focus of a pressure campaign by President Donald Trump and Gov. Mike Braun to deliver a failed mid-decade congressional redistricting map that would favor the party.
Bray led the Senate through the controversy in late 2025 and cast a vote against new maps. In the end, 21 of the 40 Indiana Senate Republicans joined Democrats to defeat the redistricting plan. It was the first time Trump's redistricting push has been voted down by members of his own party.
Bray said it was the right thing to do for Indiana and he did not pressure other lawmakers on how to vote. Vice President J.D. Vance claimed Bray had told the administration he wouldn’t fight redistricting while pushing his caucus to oppose it.
The defeat of the failed redistricting push already cost six Senate Republicans their seats against primary challengers backed by pro-redistricting money from Trump, Braun and allied groups.
The Martinsville Republican led the Senate for eight years. He will remain in the role until the Senate chooses a new member to serve as pro tempore in November. Bray’s current term continues through 2028.
A release from Bray's office said Republican leaders had promised to recruit and fund primary challengers against any senator who backed Bray's bid to remain the Senate's leader. "[Bray] will not put members in jeopardy from their own party simply because he is asking members to support his re-election as Pro Tem," the release said.
Trump did not waste time celebrating Bray’s announcement in a lengthy social media post.
“I am pleased to announce that the man who so foolishly led the Indiana State Senate, with almost every Candidate losing their Race, many of them in Office for years, will not be seeking Re-Election as Senate President because he wouldn’t have had a chance to be elected,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Bray maintains he is proud of the work he accomplished in the role.
“Serving as the President Pro Tem of the Senate for eight years has been among the most significant honors of my life, but it's time for the Senate to choose another leader," Bray said in the statement.
Bray declined an interview request from WFYI.
He said he will “always stand behind” his legislative track record and is “incredibly proud to have accomplished this work as the Pro Tem alongside my distinguished colleagues."
That track record included legislation to reduce taxes and reforms to change how reading is taught to elementary students. The statement also highlighted policies that prohibited foreign adversaries like China from owning land in the state, banned transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams and the passage of the state’s abortion ban.
Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston (R-Fishers) called Bray “a great friend and legislative partner” during their overlapping six years in the roles.
"I admire his many legislative accomplishments, but what I admire most is his commitment to family and to our state. I look forward to continue working alongside him as a Senator and continuing our long friendship," Huston said in a social media post.
The president pro tempore sets legislative priorities, appoints committee chairs, assigns newly-filed legislation to committees and represents GOP caucus members.
Contact WFYI data journalist Zak Cassel at zcassel@wfyi.org.
