Indiana Rep. Ed Clare (R-New Albany) speaks during a committee meeting on January 23, 2024. (Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Republican Rep. Ed Clere has decided to leave the Indiana General Assembly after 18 years in office, saying the political changes brought about by President Donald Trump have driven him out of the party.
Clare cited the conflict over Trump’s failed congressional redistricting as one of the reasons he will not seek reelection to his House seat this year. He also plans to run for mayor of New Albany as an independent candidate in 2027.
Trump has endorsed five challengers to sitting Republican senators in recent weeks, after vowing political revenge against those challengers. Oppose him on redistricting bill.
One of those challengers, Bluffton City Councilman Blake Fiechter once said that he was Trump’s endorsement But quietly filed his candidacy last week to run in the Republican primary alongside Sen. Travis Haldeman is the chamber’s No. 3 council member and serves as chairman of the majority caucus.
Claire and the Republican Party’s Troublesome Road
Clare, who first won the New Albany seat in 2008, announced his decision not to seek a 10th term representing Floyd County news & tribune on Friday.
He has focused much of his legislative time on the state’s social safety net efforts. He criticized the Braun administration’s cuts to Medicaid, child care and food assistance programs and said last month he ‘Very concerned with ideological focus’ Many countries act.
He was an early and vocal opponent of congressional redistricting efforts and was one of the When the House passed the bill in December, 12 Republican Republicans joined Democrats in voting “no.” A week later, the bill died in the Republican-dominated Senate.
Protesters celebrate outside the Indiana Senate chamber on Dec. 11, 2025, when a redistricting bill was defeated. (Photo by Tom Davis/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Clare told the Indiana Capital Register that the redistricting effort is a “very clear and extreme example” of “how toxic and divisive politics in Washington can spill over into Indiana.”
“A lot of Indiana Republicans want nothing to do with it and see how dangerous and destructive it is, but still feel they have to go along with it,” he said in an interview Sunday. “…I know a lot of people are not happy about this, but most of them are keeping their heads down and hoping this goes away.”
Clare has broken with fellow Republicans on several high-profile issues in recent years — voting against a 2022 abortion ban bill, a 2023 ban on transgender medical care for minors and a 2025 bill that would have allowed partisan school board elections. All received legislative approval and became state law.
Clare lamented the party’s shift away from the politics of former Gov. Mitch Daniels, who held the position when Clare was first elected to the Legislature, toward embracing divisive social issues.
“There’s still good legislation, but it’s not what it was when I first came here,” Claire said. “It’s a very different focus and a very different atmosphere.”
Republican House Speaker Todd Huston’s office had no immediate comment on Claire’s statement.
Clare said he told Houston of his decision last week and they had a “very cordial” conversation.
Clare said he intends to remain in the House Republican caucus and serve out the remainder of his legislative term, which ends in November.
Floyd County Republican Party leaders issued a statement thanking Clare for his service while saying he “has fallen out of touch with Republican values by supporting legislation that is inconsistent with the Republican platform.”
Clere came to attention in 2015 for advocating for legislation that would have allowed counties to start syringe exchange programs after intravenous drug abuse. HIV outbreak in southern Indiana’s Scott County.
he lost his Serves as Chairman of the Public Health Committee After that meeting, Claire considered the syringe project his crowning achievement.
“This legislation has saved countless lives, prevented countless infections, including HIV and hepatitis C, and resulted in countless people entering recovery programs,” he said.
Running for mayor of New Albany in the 2027 city election will be Clare’s second run for the position. Democratic Mayor Jeff Gahan, who won a fourth term in 2023, defeated Clere with 52% of the vote.
Despite losing the mayoralty, Clare easily retained his House district, which covers most of Floyd County, with 57% of the vote in 2024 and 60% in 2022.
Clare said frustration at the statehouse prompted him to consider running for mayor again.
“It’s not just about where I stand in the Republican Party, it’s about where I think I can be most effective,” he said.
Trump-backed challenger officially runs
Fichter, a Bluffton City Council member, filed state paperwork Wednesday to run against Haldeman for state Senate in the May primary.
Sen. Travis Haldeman (R-Markle) speaks during a January 2025 Senate session. (Photo: Whitney Downard/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
The action comes nearly a week after Trump’s social media endorsement, in which the president called Haldeman “Green Nobles” – Republicans in name only – and “America’s Last Politicians” for their opposition to redistricting bills.
Fichte has not responded to phone and email messages from The Capital Chronicle.
A post on Fichte’s Facebook page about his candidacy said: “We need a strong conservative and America First Senator to represent us in Indianapolis, and I promise to continue to do so. “
He is a real estate agent who is serving his first term as an at-large member of the Bluffton City Council after winning election in 2023.
A day after Trump’s supportive post, he told the Indianapolis Star he was surprised and had not yet made a decision on the Senate race.
Fichte described himself as Trump supporters generally support congressional redistricting efforts.
Haldeman has been in the Senate since 2008 and currently chairs the influential Taxation and Fiscal Policy Committee.
The Capital Chronicle asked last week Haldeman said Fichte’s main challenge was “This is part of the process. “
“I’ve known him for many years and helped get him elected to the Bluffton City Council,” Haldeman said. “We’ll see how things go.”
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