Lanane won’t seek reelection for Senate in 2022

Sen. Tim Lanane, D–Anderson, announced Monday he will not be seeking re-election to the Indiana Senate after 24 years of service.

“It has been my honor to serve the citizens of District 25 for over 20 years, but I feel it is time to thank them for their confidence and allow a new person to step into that role,” Lanane said in a statement.

Lanane is the second longtime member of the Indiana Senate Democrats to announce departure from the Indiana Legislature in recent weeks. Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes, announced her retirement from Indiana General Assembly in September. 

Lanane, who represents Indiana Senate District 25 including portions of Madison and Delaware counties, the city of Muncie and the southeastern portion of the city of Anderson, was impacted by redistricting earlier this fall.

The democratic senator was drawn into the same district as Republican Sen. Mike Gaskill of Pendleton. During attempts to make changes to the Republican-drawn Indiana election district maps in the GOP-controlled Legislature, Lanane said the proposed Senate maps were lopsided in voting patterns, making it a “suicide mission” for a Democrat to run against a Republican.

Lanane, a graduate of Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, was first elected in 1998 and was re-elected to five additional terms. He served as ranking minority member on the Elections, Agriculture, Judiciary and Fiscal Policy committees and served as minority leader of the Indiana Senate Democrats from 2012 through 2020.

Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, wished Lanane luck on his departure from the Indiana Legislature.

“Sen. Lanane has given two decades of his life to public service in the Indiana Senate, and I want to thank him for his commitment, his fight and his longevity,” Taylor said in a statement. “It was sincerely an honor to work alongside Sen. Lanane during my time in the Legislature, and it will be a loss to not have his voice in our caucus after 2022.”

During his time at the Statehouse, Lanane worked on bills establishing coach trainings to protect student athletes against concussions, guarding consumers from predatory lending practices, promoting public education and creating jobs at Anderson’s Hoosier Park, among others.

Lanane said he intends to continue his work on similar issues in 2022 as he finishes out next year’s term, stating that he hopes “the General Assembly will take seriously its duty to move Indiana forward.”