Eric Holcomb | |
|---|---|
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| 51stGovernor of Indiana | |
| In office January 9, 2017 – January 13, 2025 | |
| Lieutenant | Suzanne Crouch |
| Preceded by | Mike Pence |
| Succeeded by | Mike Braun |
| 51stLieutenant Governor of Indiana | |
| In office March 3, 2016 – January 9, 2017 | |
| Governor | Mike Pence |
| Preceded by | Sue Ellspermann |
| Succeeded by | Suzanne Crouch |
| Chair of theIndiana Republican Party | |
| In office January 3, 2011 – July 22, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | J. Murray Clark |
| Succeeded by | Tim Berry |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Eric Joseph Holcomb (1968-05-02)May 2, 1968 (age 57) Indianapolis,Indiana, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Education | Hanover College (BA) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1990–1996 |
Eric Holcomb (/ˈhoʊlkəm/HOHL-kəm;[1] born May 2, 1968)[2] is an American politician who served as the 51stgovernor of Indiana, from 2017 to 2025. A member of theRepublican Party, he served from 2016 to 2017 as the 51stlieutenant governor of Indiana under GovernorMike Pence, who left the governorship in 2017 to become thevice president of the United States. Holcomb was nominated to fill the remainder of Lieutenant GovernorSue Ellspermann's term after she resigned on March 2, 2016, to become president ofIvy Tech Community College.[3] He won the2016 election for governor of Indiana overDemocratic nomineeJohn R. Gregg, and was reelected in2020 over Democratic nomineeWoody Myers andLibertarian nominee Donald Rainwater.[4]
Holcomb was born inIndianapolis, Indiana. He graduated fromPike High School in Indianapolis,[5] and in 1990 fromHanover College inHanover, Indiana. At Hanover, he joined the fraternityPhi Gamma Delta[6] and served as chapter president. Holcomb served in theUnited States Navy for six years, first atNaval Station Great Lakes and later inFlorida andPortugal.[7] He received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters Degree fromTrine University on October 5, 2018,[8] an Honorary Doctorate of Laws fromAnderson University on May 11, 2019,[9] and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters Degree fromRose-Hulman on May 30, 2020.[10]
Holcomb began working forJohn Hostettler, a member of theUnited States House of Representatives, in 1997.[11] In 2000, Holcomb ran for theIndiana House of Representatives against John Frenz, but was defeated.[5]
From 2003 to 2011, Holcomb served as an advisor to Indiana GovernorMitch Daniels, eventually rising to the role ofDeputy Chief of Staff,[12][13][14] and served as campaign manager for Daniels's2008 gubernatorial campaign. He became Chairman of theIndiana Republican Party in 2011.[15] In 2013, he resigned to become the state chief of staff toU.S. SenatorDan Coats.[16][17] In March 2015 Coats announced that he would not run for reelection to the Senate in the2016 election, and Holcomb announced his intention to run.[18] In February 2016, Holcomb withdrew from the Senate race.[19][20]
AfterLieutenant GovernorSue Ellspermann announced her resignation, GovernorMike Pence chose Holcomb to succeed her and to be his running mate in the2016 gubernatorial election.[21] Holcomb was sworn in as lieutenant governor on March 3, 2016.[22]
Governor Mike Pence was running for reelection with Holcomb as his running mate in the spring and summer of 2016. By late June, rumors that Pence would be the Republican Party's nominee for vice president under presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump began to gain traction. In early July, Trump selected Pence as his running mate. Pence then withdrew from Indiana's gubernatorial election and Holcomb withdrew as the nominee for lieutenant governor. Holcomb decided to pursue the nomination for governor and was selected on the second ballot by the Indiana State Republican Central Committee, defeating Rep.Susan Brooks, Rep.Todd Rokita, and State SenatorJim Tomes.[23]
Holcomb chose Indiana State AuditorSuzanne Crouch as his running mate. They faced 2012 Democratic nominee and former Indiana House SpeakerJohn R. Gregg and his running mate, State RepresentativeChristina Hale. After an unprecedented 106-day campaign, Holcomb defeated Gregg, 51.4% to 45.4%. He ran slightly behind the Trump-Pence ticket, which carried Indiana with 56 percent of the vote.
Holcomb was reelected governor in 2020, defeating former state health commissionerWoody Myers with 57% of the vote. He received the most votes for governor in Indiana history.[24]
After winning the election, Holcomb announced his agenda for the upcoming Indiana General Assembly legislative session. What Holcomb calls his “Next Level Agenda” is based on five “pillars”: strengthening and diversifying Indiana's economy, strengthening Indiana's infrastructure, strengthening education and workforce training, strengthening public health and attacking addiction and providing great government service at an exceptional value to taxpayers. He has said that civility is the foundation on which the other pillars are based.[25]
Holcomb's first act as governor was creating the office of drug prevention, treatment and enforcement and tasking that office with tackling theopioid crisis and other addiction issues in Indiana. Additionally, early in his first term, Holcomb pardoned Keith Cooper, who served eight years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of an armed robbery; declared a disaster emergency at the East Chicago Superfund Site; and ended contract discussions between the Indiana Finance Authority and Agile Networks to manage Indiana's communications infrastructure, including cell towers.[26]
In April 2017, the Indiana legislature approved Holcomb's request for higher fuel taxes and BMV registration fees to fund infrastructure spending, primarily on road maintenance and construction. The law went into effect on July 1, 2017, and is projected to raise on average $1.2 billion per year through 2024.[27]
In the first quarter of 2019, theNational Journal reported that Holcomb's reelection faced serious challenges. It ranked him number 10 on its endangered list, writing, "Holcomb is facing potential match-ups with former state health commissionerWoody Myers and state SenatorEddie Melton."[28] By the end of the second quarter, his approval rating had risen to 50%.[29]
In November 2019, theCenter for Investigative Reporting reported that Holcomb had personally pressured an Indiana OSHA investigator to drop a worker fatality case against Amazon so that Indianapolis could have a better chance at being the home ofAmazon's HQ2 (a major new office). His office denied the allegations, saying that he had not attended the meeting with the OSHA commissioner and investigator.[30] Holcomb also said the accusations against him would pose a threat to Indiana's "positive business climate" and demanded they be retracted.[31] Regardless of whether Holcomb was directly involved, OSHA eventually dropped the citations against Amazon's fulfillment center and the case was reclassified as one of "employee misconduct" rather than a shortfall in training and safety procedures.[30]
In July 2020, Attorney GeneralCurtis Hill accused Holcomb of overstepping his authority by issuing a statewide face mask mandate with criminal penalties. Hill said that only thelegislature has the power under the Indiana constitution to create laws.[32] Holcomb vetoed the laws passed in the special session, and the legislature overrode his vetoes. But on June 2, 2022, theIndiana Supreme Court sided with Holcomb. Citing thestate constitution, the court found it was the legislature, not Holcomb, that had overstepped its authority. Chief Justice Loretta Rush wrote in the unanimous opinion, "Simply put, absent a constitutional amendment ... the General Assembly cannot do what HEA-1123 permits, ... our Constitution authorizes only the Governor to call a special session, the General Assembly can set additional sessions—but only by fixing their length and frequency in a law passed during a legislative session and presented to the Governor."[33]
In November 2020, Holcomb announced that he would be appointingKarrah Herring, J.D. as the Chief Equity, Inclusion and Opportunity Officer of the State of Indiana for his second term in a press release. He stated that his purpose for appointing Herring was to "better build diversity and foster an inclusive environment within state government and the services we provide so every Hoosier can take full advantage of their gifts and potential."[34] She served in his cabinet until the end of his second term in January 2025.
Holcomb was inaugurated to a second term on January 11, 2021.
In March 2022, Holcomb vetoed H.E.A. 1041, a bill passed by theIndiana General Assembly that would prohibittransgender women from participating in state-sanctioned girls' sports. He cited the bill's low probability of surviving judicial scrutiny and the lack of pressing concern as his reasons for vetoing it.[35] On May 24, the General Assembly overrode Holcomb's veto, passing the bill into law.[36] In the spring of 2023, Holcomb signed several LGBTQ+-related bills into law, including one that bansgender-affirming care for transgender minors,[37] one that requires that parents be immediately notified if a transgender student comes out to a teacher and prohibits discussions of "human sexuality" up to grade 3,[38] and one that bans gender-affirming surgery for inmates inIndiana Department of Corrections facilities.[39]
Holcomb called a special session shortly before theSupreme Court of the United StatesoverturnedRoe v. Wade in order to address tax rebates amid theearly 2020s inflation surge. AfterRoe was overturned, the Indiana General Assembly passed a near-total ban onabortion procedures, allowing exceptions only in the case of rape up to 10 weeks into pregnancy and threat to the mother's life. Holcomb signed the bill, S.B. 1, into law. The ban on abortion procedures was blocked in court shortly after going into effect in September 2022. TheIndiana Supreme Court ultimately allowed the ban to take effect in a June 30, 2023 ruling.[40]
In August 2022, Holcomb led a trade delegation toTaiwan in an effort to strengthen economic ties between Taiwan and Indiana. The delegation also visited South Korea. The visit came after several high-profile visits by U.S. officials to Taiwan, leading to increased tension between the U.S. and thePeople's Republic of China.[41] In September 2024, Holcomb visitedUkraine to sign an academic, agricultural, and cultural partnership with the country. He is the first U.S. governor to visit Ukraine since theRussian invasion.[42]
In 2024, Holcomb announced plans to resume executions. On December 18, 2024, convicted mass murdererJoseph Corcoran became the first death row inmate to beexecuted in Indiana since 2009.[43]
Holcomb's wife, Janet, runs a family business inMadison County, Indiana.[44] They have no children, and owned a miniatureschnauzer, Henry Holcomb, who was known as the "First Dog of Indiana".[45]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Eric Holcomb | 1,397,396 | 51.38% | +1.89% | |
| Democratic | John R. Gregg | 1,235,503 | 45.42% | −1.14% | |
| Libertarian | Rex Bell | 87,025 | 3.20% | −0.75% | |
| Write-in | 44 | 0.00% | 0.00% | ||
| Total votes | 2,719,968 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Eric Holcomb (incumbent) | 1,706,739 | 56.51% | +5.13% | |
| Democratic | Woody Myers | 968,106 | 32.05% | −13.37% | |
| Libertarian | Donald Rainwater | 345,569 | 11.44% | +8.24% | |
| Total votes | 3,020,414 | 100.00% | |||
| Republicanhold | |||||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chair of theIndiana Republican Party 2011–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forLieutenant Governor of Indiana 2016 (withdrew) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee for Governor of Indiana 2016,2020 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Lieutenant Governor of Indiana 2016–2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Indiana 2017–2025 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former Governor | Order of precedence of the United States Within Indiana | Succeeded byas Former Governor |
| Order of precedence of the United States Outside Indiana | Succeeded byas Former Governor | |
