James W. Merritt Jr. is an American politician and former

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

Indiana Senate The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year term ...

from 1991 to 2020, representing the 31st District. He was first elected to the Indiana Senate in 1990.Indiana Senate Biography
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%.

Biography

Merritt received his Bachelor of Arts in political science from Indiana University in 1981. Professionally, Merritt is vice president of corporate affairs for the Indiana Railroad Company. He previously served as district assistant to representative Elwood Hillis. He is divorced and has two daughters and one son. Merritt was elected chair of the Marion County Republican Party in March 2017. He replaced Mike McQuillen. He resigned as County Party Chair in December 2018. Bryce Carpenter took over as interim county GOP chair. On January 10, 2019, Merritt announced that he was running for

Mayor of Indianapolis In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. He won the primary on May 7, 2019. Merritt was soundly defeated by the incumbent Joe Hogsett. In September 2020, Merritt announced that he would be retiring from the State Senate on November 4.

Committees

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.

References

External links

State Senator James W. Merritt Jr.
''official Indiana State Legislature site'' * 21st-century American politicians Republican Party Indiana state senators Indiana University alumni Living people Politicians from Indianapolis Year of birth missing (living people) {{Indiana-politician-stub