Jim Merritt | |
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Member of the Indiana Senate from the 31st district | |
In office November 7, 1990 –November 4, 2020 | |
Preceded by | William Vobach |
Succeeded by | Kyle Walker |
Personal details | |
Born | Indianapolis,Indiana,U.S. | July 28,1959
Political party | Republican |
Education | Indiana University Bloomington (BA) |
James W. Merritt Jr. (born July 28,1959) [1] is an American politician and former Republican member of the Indiana Senate from 1991 to 2020,representing the 31st District. He was first elected to the Indiana Senate in 1990. [2] [3] [4] He was reelected to the state Senate in the 2010 election,defeating then-Marion County Sheriff Frank J. Anderson by a margin of 52% to 44%.
Merritt received his Bachelor of Arts in political science from Indiana University in 1981. [5] Professionally,Merritt is vice president of corporate affairs for the Indiana Railroad Company. [4] He previously served as district assistant to representative Elwood Hillis. [6] He is divorced and has two daughters and one son. [4]
Merritt was elected chair of the Marion County Republican Party in March 2017. [7] He replaced Mike McQuillen. [8] He resigned as County Party Chair in December 2018. [9] Bryce Carpenter took over as interim county GOP chair. [10]
On January 10,2019,Merritt announced that he was running for Mayor of Indianapolis in 2019. [11] He won the primary on May 7,2019. Merritt was soundly defeated by the incumbent Joe Hogsett. [12] [13]
In September 2020,Merritt announced that he would be retiring from the State Senate on November 4. [14] [15]
In the 2014 session,Merritt chaired the Utilities Committee. His was a majority member of these committees:Homeland Security,Transportation and Veterans Affairs;Joint Rules;Public Policy;Rules and Legislative Procedure;and also the Transportation sub-committee. [16]