State Senator Leaving Statehouse for Nation’s Capital

A man once seen as a possible future head of the Indiana Senate has announced his resignation.

Buck Creek Republican Sen. Brandt Hershman will instead move to Washington, D.C., where his wife has recently accepted a new job. A news release from the Indiana Republican Party says Hershman will take a job there, too, as a lawyer with the D.C. office of Indianapolis law firm Barnes and Thornburg.

Hershman’s district encompasses parts of six counties: Jasper, White, Carroll, Clinton, Boone and Tippecanoe. Tippecanoe County Democratic Party Chairwoman Heather Maddox says the announcement took her by surprise…

“It was actually one of my Republican friends that texted me and said ‘did you hear?’ I think he was actually like ‘Christmas came early,’” Maddox said.

Hershman, the head of the Indiana Senate’s Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee, is the second fiscal leader to step down this year, after longtime Senate Budget Committee Chairman Luke Kenley announced in July his intention to retire.

Former Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute CEO John Ketzenberger says that leaves the state’s upper legislative chamber at something of a disadvantage.

“It means that the House, next year, when they write the budget would probably have more sway than usual, that House priorities will rule and that the Senate will have a period where it’s going to need to catch up.” Ketzenberger said.

A Republican caucus will pick Hershman’s successor sometime during the legislative session, which begins Jan. 3.