Tag: Jim Merritt

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. 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. Merritt is among a small handful of Republicans who have held elected office to be openly considering it. Two others are Jose Evans, a Democrat-turned-Republican who served on the City-County Council, and state Rep. Cindy Kirchhofer. They have not yet announced their decisions. "One can surmise what it may mean. Merritt held the dual role of state senator and county party chairman for nearly two years. McQuillen, who served as county party chairman before Merritt, said vice chairman Bryce Carpenter automatically assumes that role upon Merritt's resignation.