JEFFERSONVILLE, Ky. — A southern Indiana legislator who was the only Republican senator to vote against the new GOP-drawn election district maps has decided to resign with a year left in his term.
Republican Sen. Ron Grooms of Jeffersonville had said in June that he wouldn’t seek reelection next year to the Senate seat he first won in 2010, but he announced Thursday he would step down from office effective Tuesday.
Grooms’ decision comes after final approval earlier this month of the Republican redistricting plan that eliminated his district that included Jeffersonville and New Albany by splitting the two cities between other GOP-controlled districts. Grooms joined all Senate Democrats in voting against the redistricting bill.
Grooms, a retired pharmacist, didn’t mention the district elimination in his resignation announcement, saying he looked forward to spending more time with his family and pursuing new opportunities.
A caucus of Republican precinct committee members from his current district will select a replacement for the 2022 legislative session.
Grooms’ resignation follows that of Democratic Sen. Karen Tallian of Ogden Dunes, who said she decided to leave her seat in frustration over iron-fisted Republican control of the Legislature. A Democratic caucus last week elected Rodney Pol Jr., an attorney from Chesterton, to fill the northwestern Indiana seat.
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