Commentary: Two major Election Day developments can help improve government in Indiana

There are countless threads to pull after a sweeping Democratic victory up and down the ballot Tuesday night. But one must start with Beau Bayh — the heir apparent to the state party.

To be clear, many of the votes were more anti-Republican than pro-Democrat. But Democrats put themselves in a position to take advantage of that frustration. And it showed all over the state.

Countless reliably Republican areas turned blue, led by Bayh.

He raised and spent millions, stuck to a disciplined message and his coattails no doubt helped take the state comptroller office and flip at least 21 legislative seats in the Indiana General Assembly. Oh, and the party also picked up a congressional seat.

To put this into perspective, the last Democratic secretary of state was Joe Hogsett from 1989 to 1994. Before that it was Beau Bayh’s dad, Evan Bayh. And the last Democratic comptroller — aka auditor — was Otis E. Cox from 1982 to 1986.

Straight-ticket voting was likely a factor for Bayh, but not the reason he won.

Nearly 127,000 Marion County voters cast straight-ticket Democratic ballots, compared to 40,000 for Republicans, according to unofficial Indianapolis election results.

Interestingly, Bayh wants to get rid of straight-ticket voting. And there have been bills to do so led unsuccessfully in the past by Republicans. While it would no doubt help Democrats in many parts of the state, he acknowledged it could hurt his party in Marion County.

“I don’t support policies because they benefit my political party,” he told the Capital Chronicle last week. “I support them because they’re the right thing to do for the people of our state.”

Allen County — which in 2022 had nearly double the straight-ticket Republican ballots than Democratic — saw Republican straight-ticket ballots only slightly leading Democrats.

In the end, it’s clear Hoosier Republican voters crossed over to support Bayh. He reached 1 million votes — well above the 742,000 the Democratic nominee received in 2022.

Supermajority’s end could temper extreme legislation

Hoosiers voted for change and now Democrats have to deliver. I suggest they don’t get caught up in payback for the last two years and pick their battles strategically. It would be a mistake to wear out their welcome just in time for a 2028 presidential race.

Democrats need to focus like a laser on what voters are saying: they can’t afford their groceries, gas, medicine, property taxes. They don’t like all the self-dealing and insider perks in government.

They’ll need to leverage their influx of new members to tackle those topics under a legislative process that will look drastically different in the House.

House Republicans saw their majority drop from 70 to 54, which will fundamentally change what bills are heard, what amendments are offered.

Under the supermajority, Republicans often didn’t even listen or consider Democratic thoughts on a topic. They could easily lose 10 to 15 of their own members and still pass a bill that was objectionable to many. Now, input will be necessary to forge compromise and agreements. That makes for a better process and outcome.

“I think we’re certainly going to be taken more seriously as the session goes forward,” House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta said. “… We pride ourselves on being pragmatic problem-solvers, but we’re going to work and reach across the aisle where we can, and we try to take on serious issues and find solutions to those problems.”

Even Gov. Mike Braun agrees, saying, “I think, actually, supermajorities may have hurt us there.”

Democrats also flipped some seats in the Senate, slimming the Republican supermajority there.

Both of these major developments point to a more balanced government for Indiana — one that considers more Hoosiers.