Chris Garten
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Contact
| Website | indianasenaterepublicans.com/garten |
| X / Twitter | x.com/Sen_ChrisGarten |
| facebook.com/chris.garten.2025/ | |
| instagram.com/senatorgarten/ | |
| linkedin.com/in/chris-garten-87803679/ | |
| Ballotpedia | Ballotpedia profile ↗ |
Snapshot
| Fiscal responsibility | Support |
| Limited government | Mixed |
| Second Amendment | Support |
| Pro-life issues | Support |
| Family values | Support |
Background
Chris Garten has represented Senate District 45 (Clark and a portion of Floyd County) since 2018 and currently serves as Indiana Senate Majority Floor Leader (Source 1). He authored SB 1 (2026), the Senate Republicans' top priority welfare-reform bill targeting Medicaid and SNAP eligibility for illegal immigrants, which passed the Senate 38-8 (Source 7). He also authored Senate Bill 256 (2026) on foreign-adversary registration and served as Senate sponsor for House Enrolled Act 1001 (2026) housing reform (Source 16). The Indiana Chamber of Commerce gave him a 100% score for 2025, with an 86% four-year aggregate (Source 5), while The New American's Freedom Index rates his lifetime score at 43% (Source 4). He received a Trump endorsement in March 2026 in connection with his vote for redistricting (Source 15).
Positions
Fiscal responsibility
SupportAuthored SB 1 (2026) to restrict Medicaid and SNAP eligibility, framing it as anti-fraud welfare reform; authored SEA 2 (2025) instituting work requirements for Healthy Indiana Plan recipients; cited taxpayer savings. No direct anti-spending floor statement found opposing any specific appropriation. (Source 7)(Source 16)
Limited government
MixedChampioned regulatory rollback (housing reform HEA 1001, foreign-adversary transparency SEA 256) and welfare eligibility tightening (Source 16). However, SB 1 (2026) significantly expands state verification mandates and DHS referral authority over welfare applicants, which some limited-government advocates view as an expansion of state power. Freedom Index lifetime score of 43% reflects a mixed record on constitutional limited-government metrics (Source 4).
Second Amendment
SupportVoted YES on permitless carry (HB 1296, 2022); voted YES on firearms financial-transaction privacy (HB 1084, 2024). Both recorded as party-line Republican affirmative votes (Source 12)(Source 14).
Pro-life issues
SupportVoted YES on SB 236 (2026), the abortion-inducing drug ban that passed the Senate 35–10 (Source 9). The IFI 2025 scorecard documents Garten's votes across the session's pro-life and family-values legislation (Source 6).
Family values
SupportVoted YES on SB 143 (2025) parental rights bill (43-4 final Senate concurrence); co-authored SB 215 (2026) on gender definitions; caucus supported SB 289 (2025) DEI ban in education; HB 1041 (2025) women's sports bill passed with full Republican support (Source 10)(Source 11)(Source 13). IFI praised these bills as the session's top family-values wins (Source 6).
Voting record
| Bill | Session | Title | Vote | Lens |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HB 1296 | 2022 | Permitless carry (firearms) | Yea | Second Amendment |
| HB 1084 | 2024 | Firearms financial-transaction privacy | Yea | Second Amendment |
| SB 1 | 2025 | Property tax relief / local government finance | Yea | Fiscal responsibility |
| SB 289 | 2025 | DEI ban in education and state government | Yea· author | Family values / Limited government |
| HB 1041 | 2025 | Women's college sports eligibility | Yea | Family values |
| SB 143 | 2025 | Parental rights | Yea | Family values |
| HB 1032 | 2026 session | Congressional redistricting | Yea | Limited government |
| SB 1 | 2026 | Medicaid/SNAP welfare eligibility reform | Yea | Fiscal responsibility |
| SB 236 | 2026 | Abortion-medication civil enforcement | Yea | Pro-life issues |
Endorsements
- source ↗President Donald Trump (March 24, 2026, Truth Socialin connection with redistricting support)
Sources
- 1.Indiana Senate Republicans — Garten member pagehttps://www.indianasenaterepublicans.com/garten
- 2.IGA member page (2026 session)https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2026/legislators/legislator_chris_garten_1
- 3.Ballotpedia — Indiana State Senate District 45https://ballotpedia.org/Indiana_State_Senate_District_45
- 4.Freedom Index (The New American) — lifetime score 43%https://thenewamerican.com/us/politics/trump-endorses-indiana-senators-despite-low-and-mediocre-freedom-scores/
- 5.Indiana Chamber of Commerce 2025 Legislator Vote Scoreshttps://www.indianachamber.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/LegislatorScorecard2025_VoteScores.pdf
- 6.Indiana Family Institute 2025 Legislative Scorecardhttps://hoosierfamily.org/news/ifi-releases-2025-legislative-scorecard-20250903/
- 7.IGA — SB 1 (2026), authored by Gartenhttps://iga.in.gov/legislative/2026/bills/senate/1/details
- 8.IGA — HB 1032 (2026 session, redistricting)https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2026/bills/house/1032/actions
- 9.IGA — SB 236 (2026)https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2026/bills/senate/236/actions
- 10.IGA — SB 143 (2025, parental rights)https://legiscan.com/IN/bill/SB0143/2025
- 11.IGA — SB 289 (2025, DEI ban)https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2025/bills/senate/289/details
- 12.IGA — HB 1084 (2024, firearms privacy)https://legiscan.com/IN/rollcall/HB1084/id/1406024
- 13.IGA — HB 1041 (2025, women's college sports)https://legiscan.com/IN/bill/HB1041/2025
- 14.IGA — HB 1296 (2022, permitless carry)https://legiscan.com/IN/bill/HB1296/2022
- 15.WFYI — Trump endorsements, redistricting (March 2026)https://www.wfyi.org/public-affairs/2026-03-25/trump-issues-endorsements-for-indiana-republicans-who-supported-redistricting
- 16.Indiana Senate Republicans — Garten 2026 session recaphttps://www.indianasenaterepublicans.com/garten-concludes-historic-session-with-trifecta-of-landmark-victories-for-indiana