Rodric D. "Rod" Bray (born 1969) is an American politician from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

. A member of the

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 Party ...

, Bray has been a member of the

Indiana State 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 terms ...

since 2012, representing the 37th state Senate district, which comprises all of Morgan County and a portion of

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

Owen Owen may refer to: Origin: The name Owen is of Irish and Welsh origin. Its meanings range from noble, youthful, and well-born. Gender: Owen is historically the masculine form of the name. Popular feminine variations include Eowyn and Owena. ...

and

Putnam Putnam may refer to: People * Putnam (surname) Places Canada * Putnam, Ontario, community in Thames Centre United States * Putnam, Alabama * Putnam, Connecticut, a New England town ** Putnam (CDP), Connecticut, the main village in the town ...

counties.

Early life and education

Rodric was born to Maurine D. (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

Sweet) and

Richard Bray Richard Bray (born March 1, 1934) is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Indiana Senate, representing Senate District 37, which includes all or parts of Morgan, Owen, Putnam, Clay, Johnson and Monroe counties. Bray wa ...

in 1969. His father, Richard, served in the

Indiana House of Representatives The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House mem ...

from 1974 to 1992 and in the Indiana Senate from to 1994 to 2012, where he was the Assistant Majority Caucus Chair. His grandfather

William G. Bray William Gilmer Bray (June 17, 1903 – June 4, 1979) was an American lawyer and World War II veteran who served twelve terms as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana from 1951 to 1975. Early life and ...

was a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

from 1951 to 1975, representing Indiana's 6th and 7th congressional districts. Bray is a graduate of Martinsville High School. He attended

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship campus of Indiana University and, with over 40,000 students, its largest camp ...

, where he received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

in 1991. Bray also attended

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universi ...

, where he graduated with his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from the

Valparaiso University School of Law The Valparaiso University Law School was the law school of Valparaiso University, a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. Founded in 1879, the school was accredited by the American Bar Association in 1929 and admitted to the Association of Am ...

in 1994.

Early career

Bray was a deputy prosecuting attorney in

Morgan County, Indiana Morgan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 68,894. The county seat (and only incorporated city) is Martinsville. Morgan County is between Indianapolis, in Marion C ...

until 1997. He then entered private practice, where he was an attorney with Harris & Currens, and was elected Chairman of the Morgan County Republican Party on August 18, 1998, after the incumbent party chair, Joan Gray, resigned. He served as chair until March 2005. He was succeeded by Martin Weaver as County Party Chair. On August 18, 2003, Bray was appointed

city attorney A city attorney is a position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the municipality. Unlike a district attorney or public defender, who usually handles criminal cases, a city at ...

of Martinsville by Mayor Shannon Buskirk, after the death of incumbent Robert St. Clair. Bray served as city attorney until 2007. He was succeeded by Roger Coffin as City Attorney. After serving as city attorney, Bray became a member of the Morgan County Election Board and the general counsel to the Martinsville Plan Commission and Board of Zoning. Bray has also served on the board of directors for Home Bank since 2008.

Indiana State Senate

After his father Richard decided to retire from the

after five terms, Rodric Bray declared his candidacy for Indiana's 37th State Senate district, officially filing to run on January 24, 2012. Bray faced insurance agent and Morgan County Councilman Ryan Goodwin in the Republican primary. Bray defeated Goodwin 10,115 votes (54.8%) to 8,333 votes (46.2%), in the May 8, 2012 Republican primary. Bray went on to face

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

nominee Jim Cahill, a

cement truck A concrete mixer (often colloquially called a cement mixer) is a device that homogeneously combines cement, aggregate such as sand or gravel, and water to form concrete. A typical concrete mixer uses a revolving drum to mix the components. ...

driver and

Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the u ...

local Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

president, in the general election. Bray prevailed in the November 6 general election with 36,959 votes (71.2%) to Cahill's votes 14,947 (28.8%). Bray was sworn into office on November 20, 2012, by Chief Justice of the

Indiana Supreme Court The Indiana Supreme Court, established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution, is the highest judicial authority in the state of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis, the Court's chambers are in the north wing of the Indiana Statehouse. In Dece ...

Brent Dickson Brent E. Dickson (born July 18, 1941) is an American attorney and jurist who served as a justice of the Indiana Supreme Court from January 6, 1986 to April 29, 2016, and was chief justice of the Court from 2012 to 2014. He retired from the Indian ...

. Bray's district includes all of Morgan County and parts of

and

counties. Bray is a member of the Senate committees on Corrections and Criminal Law, Health and Provider Services, Local Government, and Utilities. In January 2018, Senate Republicans elected Bray Senate majority leader, after

Brandt Hershman Brandt Hershman is an American politician and a former Republican state senator for Indiana. He served from 2000 to 2018. He is married to Lisa Hershman. Early life and education Hershman grew up on a farm in Jasper County, Indiana. He earned ...

retired. In May 2018, Senate Republicans preliminary electedBrian A. Howey
Bray completes Senate power transition
''Howey Politics Indiana'', Vol. 23, No. 37 (May 17, 2018). Bray to the post of Senate president pro tempore and

Mark Messmer Mark B. Messmer is a Republican member of the Indiana State Senate, representing the Senate District 48 since November 19, 2014. Messmer is a former member of the Indiana House of Representatives, representing three terms for the 63rd district f ...

to replace Bray as Senate Majority Leader. In the caucus balloting, Bray reportedly won by a single vote over Travis Holdman. Bray was officially elected and took office in November 2018, at the opening of the legislative session.Tom Davies
Indiana Senate’s 1st new leader in 12 years showing caution
Associated Press (November 20, 2018). The Republicans enjoy a two-thirds

supermajority A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority r ...

in both the state House and state Senate.Arika Herron
Despite prior assurances, schools may see funding cuts. Here's what we know.
''Indianapolis Star'' (August 7, 2020). As Senate president pro tem, Bray opposed proposals to legalize marijuana in Indiana. He resisted calls for an increase in schoolteacher pay. In 2019, Bray supported a hate crimes bill that provided that judges could considered "bias" in sentencing; with Bray's support, a majority of Senate Republicans had amended the proposal to strip a list of protected victim traits from the original bill, including race, sexual orientation, and gender identity, from the bill, drawing criticism from Democrats, some Republican legislators, Republican Governor

Eric Holcomb Eric Joseph Holcomb (born May 2, 1968) is an American politician who is the 51st and current governor of Indiana, serving since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 51st lieutenant governor of Indiana from 2016 to 2017 under ...

, and civil rights advocates. In 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Indiana The COVID-19 pandemic reached the U.S. state of Indiana on March 5, 2020, and was confirmed on March 6. As of July 12, 2021, the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) had confirmed 757,904 cases in the state and 13,496 deaths. As of July 3, ...

, Bray sent a letter to Indiana school leaders, saying that public schools that did not offer an in-person education option (as opposed to virtual education) risked major cuts in state funding, which could amount to millions of dollars, depending on the student population of the

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, whi ...

Personal life

Bray currently resides in

Martinsville, Indiana Martinsville is a city in Washington Township, Morgan County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 11,828 at the 2010 United States Census. The city is the county seat of Morgan County. History Martinsville was founded in 1822. It ...

with his wife, Kelly, and their two sons. Bray attends the First

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelica ...

of Martinsville, where he serves as a member of the Pastor Parish Committee and is a Sunday school teacher.

References

External links

Official Senate WebsiteCampaign Website
* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bray, Rodric 1969 births Living people 21st-century American politicians Republican Party Indiana state senators Indiana University Bloomington alumni People from Indiana People from Martinsville, Indiana Valparaiso University School of Law alumni