(INDIANA CAPITAL CHRONICLE) — The second-ranking Republican in the Indiana Senate has resigned from that leadership position amid talk that he could challenge current Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray for the chamber’s top spot. Sen. Chris Garten sent a letter Thursday to fellow Repu blican senators informing them of his decision to resign as majority floor leader while continuing as a member of the Senate. Garten’s decision comes just weeks after the end of a bitter primary campaign in which six Republican senators who opposed congressional redistricting were defeated. Garten is a favorite of strident supporters of President Donald Trump and backed the redistricting push demanded by Trump. That split Garten from Bray and other top Senate Republicans on the issue. “As we navigate the complex issues facing our state, it has become clear to me that serving as Floor Leader requires a seamless alignment with the current strategic direction of leadership — an alignment I no longer maintain,” Garten’s letter to other senators said. “Continuing in this role without unequivocal support for that direction would be a disservice to the office, to leadership, and most importantly, to all of you.” Garten didn’t announce he would challenge Bray for the president pro tem position, but the letter said “I look forward to exploring how to further advance the conservative principles that separate Indiana from the rest.” Neither Garten nor Bray immediately replied Thursday to phone messages from the Indiana Capital Chronicle seeking interviews. Bray said in a statement issued by his office that he appreciated Garten’s service as floor leader. “We will continue to work together with the rest of our caucus members in the coming months as we tackle topics assigned to interim study committees and prepare for the challenges of the upcoming budget session,” Bray’s statement said. Republican senators, who now hold a 40-10 Senate majority, likely won’t formally decide on their chamber leadership pick until after the November election. At least nine current GOP senators won’t be returning for the 2027 session because of retirements or primary defeats. Bray told the Capital Chronicle last month that he would seek to remain in the president pro tem position that he’s held for the past eight years. He said he anticipates leadership challengers when the selection is made every two years. Trump repeatedly lambasted Bray for not pushing through the proposed map aimed at boosting the chances of Republicans winning all nine of Indiana’s congressional seats.  The president vowed in a January social media post “to take out” Bray, saying “We’re after you Bray, like no one has ever come after you before!” The president pro tem has authority to pick Senate committee chairs, direct bills to particular committees and broadly set the Senate’s agenda. Bray appointed Garten as the majority floor leader in August 2022 after Bray removed then-Sen. Mark Messmer of Jasper from the position after disagreements over handling of the near-total abortion ban bill. Garten, of Charlestown, was first elected to the Senate in 2018. He was unopposed in the Republican primary as he is seeking reelection to a third term this year. Four-term Sen. Jim Tomes, R-Wadesville, said he was surprised by Garten’s resignation and was uncertain whether it set the stage for a leadership fight. “I really don’t know what this is all about, other than what he stipulated, that he’s not going to be the floor leader,” Tomes told the Capital Chronicle. “I have no idea if there’s something else he’s got his eyes set on or not.” ...read more read less