One of the few well-known Indianapolis Republicans who has been flirting with a run against Democratic Mayor Joe Hogsett in 2019 took a step back from city politics Friday.
But it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s not running.
State Sen. Jim Merritt resigned as chairman of the Marion County Republican Party, citing the workload of the upcoming legislative session and insisting that the GOP “would benefit from someone who is able to be laser focused on winning back both the City-County Council and the mayor’s office.”
Merritt, who for months has talked about challenging Hogsett, said in a prepared statement that he is busy at “work on over 34 pieces of legislation” that will occupy his time. Yet, Merritt did not explicitly address the mayoral race and left his options open in a text message to IndyStar.
“I’m going to take my time and make a decision,” Merritt said.
Hogsett, a Democrat, announced last week he would seek a second term. He does not yet have a prominent Republican challenger.
So far, two Republicans without government experience — Christopher Moore and John Schmitz — have said they will run for mayor. Merritt is among a small handful of Republicans who have held…
