James W. Merritt Jr. 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.Indiana Senate Biography
He was reelected to the state Senate in the 2010 election, defeating then-Marion County Sheriff

Frank J. Anderson Frank J. Anderson (1938 – April 30, 2022) was an American politician who served as Sheriff of Marion County, Indiana, from 2003 until 2011. He was the first black individual to serve in that post and the second black Sheriff in Indiana after Oa ...

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 Elwood Haynes "Bud" Hillis (March 6, 1926 – January 4, 2023) was an American politician and lawyer from Indiana. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, serving Indiana's 5th congressional district for 8 terms ...

. He is divorced and has two daughters and one son. Merritt was elected chair of the Marion County

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

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

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 Joseph Hadden Hogsett (born November 2, 1956) is an American attorney, prosecutor, and politician who is the 49th mayor of Indianapolis, Indiana. Prior to being elected, Hogsett served as the Secretary of State of Indiana from 1989 to 1994 and as ...

. 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