Rep. Don Lehe is another representative in a District where Eastern Daylight Time is unpopular who had an opportunity to kill the DST bill but refused to do so. He is currently in a race that is too close to call. He unofficially leads challenger Myron Sutton by 24 votes with all of the provisional ballots left to be counted.
Right now, Indiana house Democrats lead 51 – 49. If Lehe loses to Sutton, wouldn’t that give the Democrats in the house a 52 – 48 lead and allow them (assuming all Dems voted the same) to advance various bills?
Even a 51 to 49 majority allows them to advance bills if they maintain party discipline. 52 to 48 gives them a bit of a cushion.
The most important vote is the one for Speaker because that, in turn, determines who controls the committees which, in turn, controls which bills get a hearing and which bills do not.