State Sen. Ron Alting, facing a special prosecutor’s investigation into a series of alleged shoplifting cases at a Lafayette Walmart, will resign his seat in the Indiana Senate after 28 years, if he wins an eighth term on Nov. 3.
Alting, first elected in Senate District 22 as a Lafayette Republican in 1998, said in a statement on Facebook Wednesday afternoon that he’d informed Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray that he would step down.
“After many difficult conversations with my family, my doctors and people I have trusted for many years, I have concluded that I need to bring my time in public office to an end and devote my attention to my health and my family,” Alting said in the Facebook post.
“Because voting in this year’s election is already underway, my name will remain on the ballot,” Alting said. “If I am elected, my successor will ultimately be chosen through the Republican Party’s vacancy process. I have great confidence that this process will produce an outstanding leader who will serve Senate District 22 and its people well.”
Alting’s statement did not specify when the resignation would take effect.
Molly Swigart, communications director for the Indiana Senate majority, confirmed that “Sen. Alting has notified Sen. Bray of his intent to resign from the Senate should Sen. Alting be re-elected.”