Q&A with new State Senator Daryl Schmitt
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On Sept. 10, Daryl Schmitt of Dubois County was sworn in as state senator for Indiana District 48. The week before, he won a Republican caucus to replace Mark Messmer, who left the seat to run for Indiana’s 8th Congressional District.
Schmitt is a farmer who served on the Dubois County Council for nearly two years. He also won a caucus for that seat in January 2023 to finish Craig Greulich’s term, according to the Dubois County Free Press.
Schmitt gave his first interview as a state senator to Inside INdiana Business and talked about his ambitions for the new role. This article has been edited for brevity and clarity.
You were sworn in as state senator on Sept. 10. Tell me about that experience.
It was very exciting. I had been to the Senate numerous times doing research and homework. So I had an understanding of what the Statehouse is like. I went up half a dozen times last year in the winter because there were issues before the Senate and the House that, as a county council representative, I was passionate about.
But going up there in that capacity and walking in and then being referred to as Sen. Schmitt was a little new for me and a little formal, but that’s okay. It was an exciting moment because it will amplify my voice. Now I am representing roughly 135,000 people instead of just myself. So that’s an awesome responsibility that I will take seriously.
Before winning the caucus for the state senate seat, you won a caucus to serve on the Dubois County Council. Tell me about your time in that role.
Within the first three weeks of being on the county council, I had met every department head in the county. Then I started going to town council meetings and city council meetings, and then I started going to council meetings and commissioner meetings in adjoining counties. Just trying to build a knowledge base and learn.
As I was on the council and starting to understand local issues like taxation, I realized I have a passion for a lot of ideas. I can work from the local level and try to solve a lot of these needs. So when the senate seat came open, I’m like, “I can take these passions and be effective in the state senate and advocate for these issues.” Whether it’s rural fire departments struggling with no funding or small municipalities that are struggling, I can represent those views.
Your background includes UPS management, seed sales and farming. How will you use that experience at the Statehouse?
Working for UPS in corporate America, I was in various management roles. Then August 9, 1992, my mother died of breast cancer when she just turned 50. My father was [in Dubois County], and there weren’t any close relatives at that point. I had met who is now my wife, and we decided this was a great place to raise a family in southern Indiana. So we decided to change careers, move back and start farming. Fast forward, we’ve been farming for 30+ years.
So you take that experience and then take my experience now of local government finance, being on the council, the budget arm for local government. Those experiences will allow me to hit the ground running and provide a lot of value and the local perspective, an outsider’s perspective, more of the business world type perspective, to be able to provide a different perspective for the Senate.
Besides Dubois County, Senate District 48 includes Gibson, Pike, Spencer, Perry and Crawford counties. How do you plan to get to know this broader range of constituents?
It’ll be the same template I used on the county council. June 20 of this year is when I officially decided that I’m going to run and file caucus for this seat if or when it opened up. I started going to fairs, festivals and events. From that date until the caucus was held was approximately 77 days, and 44 out of those 77 days, I was out meeting people in the evenings, whether it was individually one-on-one, precinct committee people or at fairs or festivals.
I committed to everyone that within the first 12 months, I will have been at every taxing district in Senate District 48. In every county, I will have been to every town council meeting, city council meeting, county council meeting and commissioners meeting in the first 12 months.
By going out and meeting people like I’ve been doing already and going to all the town council meetings and city council meetings and reaching out, that’s how I will be able to have a pulse and understand the people’s needs and then be able to represent the district the best way possible.
What issues are you most passionate about?
I’ve got a lot of lanes from my background, from rural America to corporate America. Property tax reform is on everybody’s mind. You have people on fixed income, where the assessed valuation is going up and up because of inflation, and then their property tax bills are going up, and they’re struggling. We don’t want people to have to sell their homes because they can’t afford their property taxes. So property taxes are going to be an issue.
As our expectations as taxpayers and members of the community continue to go up, there has to be a revenue stream to fulfill those expectations. Using Medicaid as an example, it’s projected to be 17.7% of the General Fund budget. It’s my understanding that the federal government’s portion of that will be going down. So there will be a lot of things that we’ll have to address to balance those needs out.
There are also a lot of social issues, child abuse issues that I’ve been made aware of over time, some things that we need to look into to protect our children better. The Family and Social Services Administration, FSSA, is obviously is a concern for people all across the state with the shortfall there, but without a reduction of the services for those children and people in need. I’m cognizant of those issues as well.
Mark Messmer served in this senate seat for nearly 10 years. How does it feel to fill his shoes?
Those are absolutely big shoes to fill. He set the bar pretty high because he’s always out in the communities trying to visit and meet people and find that balance between economic issues and social issues. I have a lot of those same passions. He has set high expectations because of what he has done. That’s exactly the way I like to roll. I have high expectations of myself, and I will have high expectations of everyone around me. So I’m ready for the challenge.
My biggest concern is that I don’t know how to play the trumpet. That is one thing that I’ve been asked numerous times. “What are you going to do at parades, Daryl?” I’m going to have to find something memorable, but it will not be musically inclined.
What are you looking forward to in the 2025 legislative session?
I want to sponsor a bill. It’s going to be tight, because I’m getting a late start here, but I still have until Dec. 6. So I’ve started reaching out to different House and Senate members and trying to find out if my passions are already in a bill, and I can help and work with whomever that already has something started and help them to shepherd it through.
I’ve reached out to Mark Messmer. We’re going to get together, and if he has some unfinished business, and it correlates with my passions, or if it’s something that makes sense, then I will try to work and shepherd those through. The obvious ones are right in my wheelhouse from having business background, the budgeting. I feel like I’m ready to jump in there and do that. I’m going to do whatever I can to enact as much positive change within the system we have.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I want to be open, transparent and straightforward with everyone, and I want to reach out to everyone. I want to work to do my best to represent Indiana and rural America. I’m going to be the only farmer in the Senate. There are other people that are involved in certain ways, but I think I’m the only one who derives their income as a full time farmer. And I want to utilize that.
There’s a lot of skill sets that we have out here in rural America. There’s this saying, “Jack of all trades, master of none.” I like to say, “Jack of all trades, master of most.” I want to try to use those skills and do the best that I can to give back. I’m at a stage in my life that I want to help. I’m passionate about giving back and helping southern Indiana to the best of my ability.