Governor of Indiana

Indiana Governor
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$134,051
2025 FY Budget:	$8,390,000
Term limits:	8 out of 12 years
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Indiana Constitution, Article 5, the Executive Department
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Governor of Indiana Eric Holcomb Republican Party Assumed office: January 9, 2017
Elections
Next election:	November 5, 2024
Last election:	November 3, 2020
Other Indiana Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditors: Auditor • Examiner • Secretary of Education • Agriculture Director • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Director • Labor Commissioner • Utility Regulatory Commission

The Governor of the State of Indiana is an elected constitutional officer, the head of the executive branch and the highest state office in Indiana. The governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and is limited to two consecutive terms with at least a four-year span before the same individual may hold the office again.

Indiana has a Republican trifecta. The Republican Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature.

Indiana has a Republican triplex. The Republican Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general.

See also: Indiana General Assembly, Indiana House of Representatives, Indiana State Senate

Current officeholder

The 51st and current governor of Indiana is Republican Eric Holcomb. Holcomb won election on November 8, 2016, and was sworn into office on January 9, 2017.

Authority

The state Constitution addresses the office of the governor in Article 5, the Executive Department.

Under Article 5, Section 1:

The executive power of the State shall be vested in a Governor.

Qualifications

State Executives
Current Governors
Gubernatorial Elections
2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014
Current Lt. Governors
Lt. Governor Elections
2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014

Qualifications for the governorship are set forth in Article 5, Section 7.

To become governor of Indiana, a candidate must have been a United States citizen and lived within Indiana for the period of five consecutive years before the election. The candidate must also be at least 30 years old when sworn into office. Under Section 8, the governor may not hold any other state or federal office during his or her term, and must resign from any such position before being eligible to be sworn in as governor.

Before taking the office, the candidate must swear an oath of office administered by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Indiana, promising to uphold the constitution and laws of Indiana.

Elections

Indiana state government organizational chart

Indiana elects governors in the presidential elections, that is, in leap years. For Indiana 2016, 2020, 2024, and 2028 are all gubernatorial election years. Legally, the gubernatorial inauguration is always set for the second Monday in the January following an election (§ 9).

If two candidates are tied, a joint session of the General Assembly shall cast ballots to determine the winner, pursuant to Article 5, Section 5.

2024

See also: Indiana gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2024

General election

General election for Governor of Indiana

Jennifer McCormick, Mike Braun, Donald Rainwater, and Christopher Stried are running in the general election for Governor of Indiana on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate
		Jennifer McCormick (D)
		Mike Braun (R)
		Donald Rainwater (L)
		Christopher Stried (Independent)

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Indiana

Jennifer McCormick advanced from the Democratic primary for Governor of Indiana on May 7, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jennifer McCormick	100.0	180,577

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 180,577
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Tamie Dixon-Tatum (D)
• Bob Kern (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Indiana

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of Indiana on May 7, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mike Braun	39.5	237,125
		Suzanne Crouch	21.7	130,219
		Brad Chambers	17.5	104,723
		Eric Doden	11.8	71,031
		Jamie Reitenour	4.8	28,774
		Curtis Hill	4.6	27,750

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 599,622
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Governor of Indiana

Donald Rainwater defeated Rhonda Greene in the Libertarian convention for Governor of Indiana on March 2, 2024.

		Candidate
		Rhonda Greene (L)
✔		Donald Rainwater (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. Source 1 Source 2
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2020

See also: Indiana gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2020

General election

General election for Governor of Indiana

Incumbent Eric Holcomb defeated Woody Myers and Donald Rainwater in the general election for Governor of Indiana on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Eric Holcomb (R)	56.5	1,706,724
		Woody Myers (D)	32.1	968,092
		Donald Rainwater (L)	11.4	345,567

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,020,383
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Indiana

Woody Myers advanced from the Democratic primary for Governor of Indiana on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Woody Myers	100.0	408,230

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 408,230
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Josh Owens (D)
• Eddie Melton (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Indiana

Incumbent Eric Holcomb advanced from the Republican primary for Governor of Indiana on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Eric Holcomb	100.0	524,496

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 524,496
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Brian Roth (R)

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Governor of Indiana

Donald Rainwater advanced from the Libertarian convention for Governor of Indiana on March 7, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Donald Rainwater (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Bill Levin (L)

2016

See also: Indiana gubernatorial election, 2016

The general election for governor was held on November 8, 2016.

Eric Holcomb and Suzanne Crouch defeated John Gregg and Christina Hale, Rex Bell and Karl Tatgenhorst, Christopher Stried, and Adam Adkins in the Indiana governor election.

Indiana Governor, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Eric Holcomb and Suzanne Crouch	51.4%	1,396,460
	Democratic	John Gregg and Christina Hale	45.4%	1,234,546
	Libertarian	Rex Bell and Karl Tatgenhorst	3.2%	86,964
	Independent	Adam Adkins	0.00%	14
	Independent	Christopher Stried	0.00%	8
Total Votes				2,717,992
Source: Indiana Election Division

2012

See also: Indiana gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2012

On November 6, 2012, Mike Pence and Sue Ellspermann won election as Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Indiana. They defeated the Gregg/Simpson (D), Boneham/Klopfenstein (L) and Harris/Fish (I) ticket(s) in the general election.

Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Indiana, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mike Pence & Sue Ellspermann	49.5%	1,275,424
	Democratic	John Gregg & Vi Simpson	46.6%	1,200,016
	Libertarian	Rupert Boneham & Brad Klopfenstein	4%	101,868
	Independent	Donnie Harold Harris & George Fish	0%	21
Total Votes				2,577,329
Election Results Via: via Indiana Secretary of State

Term limits

See also: States with gubernatorial term limits

Indiana governors are restricted to eight years in office during any 12-year period.

Indiana Constitution, Article 5, Section 1

The executive power of the State shall be vested in a Governor. He shall hold his office during four years, and shall not be eligible more than eight years in any period of twelve years.

Partisan composition

The chart below shows the partisan breakdown of Indiana governors from 1992 to 2013.

Vacancies

See also: How gubernatorial vacancies are filled

Details of vacancies are addressed under Article 5, Section 10.

If the governor becomes incapacitated then the lieutenant governor of Indiana becomes acting-governor until his or her recovery. If the governor resigns, dies, or is impeached, tried, and convicted, then the lieutenant governor becomes governor.

If the office of the lieutenant governor is vacant, then the Senate Pro-Tempore becomes governor. If the office of Senate Pro-Tempore is also vacant then the senate must elect a new Pro-Tempore to fill the governor's office.

The governor may temporarily step aside if he or she communicates that he or she is unable to discharge the office to both the President Pro-Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The same two individuals may file a petition with the Indiana Supreme Court asking for a hearing of fitness for office for the Governor. In that case, the hearing must be held within 48 hours and the Supreme Court's decision is final.

If the governor and lieutenant governor both vacate their offices, the General Assembly must meet within 48 hours and elect an acting governor, who must belong to the same party as the elected governor, by a simple majority in each chamber. Until then, the acting governor shall be, in order of succession:

• the President Pro-Tempore of the Senate

• the Speaker of the House of Representatives

• the State Treasurer

• the State Auditor

• the Secretary of State

• the State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Duties

The Governor of Indiana has wide-ranging executive authority to manage the government of the state and is the chief executive of the executive branch of the state government. These powers are established in the Indiana Constitution. The governor works in concert with the Indiana General Assembly and the Supreme Court of Indiana to govern the state. As an independent branch, the governor has the ability to balance the other branches. Among these abilities is the power to veto legislation passed by the Indiana General Assembly. If vetoed, a bill is returned to the General Assembly for reconsideration where they may override the veto with a simple majority. The governor also has the ability to call a special session of the General Assembly, who can otherwise not assemble longer than is permitted by the constitution.

The governor can influence the courts by using the appointment power. The Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission creates a list of three candidates from which the governor chooses one who will serve on the state courts. This authority gives the governor considerable sway in setting the makeup of the judiciary.

Among his other powers, the governor can call out the state defense force or the Indiana National Guard in times of emergency or disaster. The governor is also charged with the enforcement of all the state's laws and the Indiana Code which is carried out through the Indiana State Police. The governor also has the ability to pardon or commute the sentence of any criminal offenders except in cases of treason or impeachment.

Other duties and privileges of the office include:

• Periodically addressing the General Assembly concerning the State of the State and making recommendations for prudent courses of action (§ 13).

• Requiring written information from any administrative officer of the state concerning their job and the conditions of their institutions (§ 15).

• Granting pardons and reprieves, in consultation with a special legislative commission when called for by law. The privilege of granting pardons does not grant to impeachment or treason, though the Governor may suspend the execution of a treason sentence until the legislative sits again and reviews the case (§ 17).

• Filling vacancies in the Courts and in other state offices when the manner for doing so is not otherwise set forth in law, and, when the General Assembly is in recess, making any vacancy appointments that would normally be the prerogative of the legislature (§ 18).

• Reconvening the General Assembly at a place other than its normal chambers for extraordinary reasons (§ 19).

Divisions

Updated January 17, 2021

The website of the Governor of Indiana details the following three offices within his Cabinet:

• Office of Management and Budget
• Indiana Office of Technology
• Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives

State budget

See also: Indiana state budget and finances

Role in state budget

The state operates on a biennial budget cycle. The sequence of key events in the budget process is as follows:

1. In early Summer of the year preceding the beginning of the new biennium, budget instructions are sent to state agencies.
2. By September 1, agencies submit their budget requests to the governor.
3. Hearings are held with the public from November to April.
4. The governor submits his or her budget to the state legislature in January.
5. The legislature typically adopts a budget in April, effective for the fiscal biennium beginning in July. A simple majority is required to pass a budget.

There are no constitutional or statutory provisions mandating that the governor submit or sign a balanced budget. Budget deficits may be carried over to the next biennium.

Indiana is one of six states in which the governor cannot exercise line item veto authority.

Governor's office budget

The Governor's Office budget was $8,390,000 for the 2025 fiscal year.

Compensation

See also: Comparison of gubernatorial salaries and Compensation of state executive officers

The salary of the governor is determined by the Indiana State Legislature as mandated in the state constitution. Article 5, Section 22 of the Indiana Constitution also prohibits changes to salary during the governor's current term.

Article 5, Section 22 of the Indiana Constitution

	Text of Section 22: Compensation of Governor The Governor shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished, during the term for which he shall have been elected.

In 2007, the Indiana Senate passed SB 401, which tied annual salary increases to increases received by state employees. State executive officials are not eligible for salary increases if state employees do not receive increases to their salaries. The governor's salary is adjusted every four years with the increase taking effect the year following the most recent gubernatorial election.

2022

In 2022, the officer's salary was $134,051, according to the Council of State Governments.

2021

In 2021, the governor received a salary of $134,051, according to the Council of State Governments.

2020

In 2020, the governor received a salary of $121,331, according to the Council of State Governments.

2019

In 2019, the governor received a salary of $121,331, according to the Council of State Governments.

2018

In 2018, the governor received a salary of $121,331, according to the Council of State Governments.

2017

In 2017, the governor received a salary of $121,331, according to the Council of State Governments.

2016

In 2016, the governor received a salary of $111,688, according to the Council of State Governments.

2015

In 2015, the governor received a salary of $111,688, according to the Council of State Governments.

2014

In 2014, the governor received a salary of $111,688, according to the Council of State Governments.

2013

In 2013, the governor's salary was increased to $111,688, according to the Council of State Governments.

2012

As of 2012, the governor received a salary of $107,881, according to the Council of State Governments.

Historical officeholders

Since 1816, Indiana has had 51 governors. Of the 51, 21 have been Democrats, 23 have been Republicans, three were Democratic-Republicans, three were Whigs and one was Independent. Prior to becoming a state on December 11, 1816, three men - William Henry Harrison, John Gibson, and Thomas Posey - served as Governor of the Indiana Territory from 1800-1816.

#	Name	Term of office	Party
1	Jonathan Jennings	November 7, 1816-September 12, 1822	Democratic-Republican
2	Ratliff Boon	September 12, 1822-December 5, 1822	Democratic-Republican
3	William Hendricks	December 5, 1822-February 12, 1825	Democratic-Republican
4	James Brown Ray	February 12, 1825-December 7, 1831	Independent
5	Noah Noble	December 7, 1831-December 6, 1837	Whig
6	David Wallace	December 6, 1837-December 9, 1840	Whig
7	Samuel Bigger	December 9, 1840-December 6, 1843	Whig
8	James Whitcomb	December 6, 1843-December 26, 1848	Democratic
9	Paris Chipman Dunning	December 26, 1848-December 5, 1849	Democratic
10	Joseph Albert Wright	December 5, 1849-January 12, 1857	Democratic
11	Ashbel Parsons Willard	January 12, 1857-October 4, 1860	Democratic
12	Abram Adams Hammond	October 4, 1860-January 14, 1861	Democratic
13	Henry Smith Lane	January 14, 1861-January 16, 1861	Republican
14	Oliver Perry Morton	January 16, 1861-January 23, 1867	Republican
15	Conrad Baker	January 23, 1867-January 13, 1873	Republican
16	Thomas Andrews Hendricks	January 13, 1873-January 8, 1877	Democratic
17	James Douglas Williams	January 8, 1877-November 20, 1880	Democratic
18	Isaac Pusey Gray	November 20, 1880-January 10, 1881	Democratic
19	Albert Gallatin Porter	January 10, 1881-January 12, 1885	Republican
20	Isaac Pusey Gray	January 12, 1885-January 14, 1889	Democratic
21	Alvin Peterson Hovey	January 14, 1889-November 23, 1891	Republican
22	Ira Joy Chase	November 23, 1891-January 9, 1893	Republican
23	Claude Matthews	January 9, 1893-January 11, 1897	Democratic
24	James Atwell Mount	January 11, 1897-January 14, 1901	Republican
25	Winfield Taylor Durbin	January 14, 1901-January 9, 1905	Republican
26	James Frank Hanly	January 9, 1905-January 11, 1909	Republican
27	Thomas Riley Marshall	January 11, 1909-January 13, 1913	Democratic
28	Samuel Moffett Ralston	January 13, 1913-January 8, 1917	Democratic
29	James Putnam Goodrich	January 8, 1917-January 10, 1921	Republican
30	Warren Terry McCray	January 10, 1921-April 30, 1924	Republican
31	Emmett Forrest Branch	April 30, 1924-January 12, 1925	Republican
32	Edward L. Jackson	January 12, 1925-January 14, 1929	Republican
33	Harry Guyer Leslie	January 14, 1929-January 9, 1933	Republican
34	Paul Vories McNutt	January 9, 1933-January 11, 1937	Democratic
35	Maurice Clifford Townsend	January 11, 1937-January 13, 1941	Democratic
36	Henry Frederick Schricker	January 13, 1941-January 8, 1945	Democratic
37	Ralph F. Gates	January 8, 1945-January 10, 1949	Republican
38	Henry Frederick Schricker	January 10, 1949-January 12, 1953	Democratic
39	George N. Craig	January 12, 1953-January 14, 1957	Republican
40	Harold W. Handley	January 14, 1957-January 9, 1961	Republican
41	Matthew E. Welsh	January 9, 1961-January 11, 1965	Democratic
42	Roger D. Branigin	January 11, 1965-January 13, 1969	Democratic
43	Edgar D. Whitcomb	January 13, 1969-January 9, 1973	Republican
44	Otis R. Bowen	January 9, 1973-January 13, 1981	Republican
45	Robert D. Orr	January 13, 1981-January 9, 1989	Republican
46	Evan Bayh	January 9, 1989-January 13, 1997	Democratic
47	Frank O'Bannon	January 13, 1997-September 13, 2003	Democratic
48	Joseph E. Kernan	September 13, 2003-January 10, 2005	Democratic
49	Mitch Daniels	January 10, 2005-January 14, 2013	Republican
50	Mike Pence	January 14, 2013-January 9, 2017	Republican
51	Eric Holcomb	January 9, 2017 - Present	Republican

History

Partisan balance 1992-2013

See also: Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States and Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States, Indiana

Partisan breakdown of the Indiana governorship from 1992-2013

From 1992-2013, Indiana had Democratic governors in office for the first 13 years while there were Republican governors in office for the last nine years. Indiana was under Republican trifectas for the last three years of the study period.

Across the country, there were 493 years of Democratic governors (44.82%) and 586 years of Republican governors (53.27%) from 1992 to 2013.

Over the course of the 22-year study, state governments became increasingly more partisan. At the outset of the study period (1992), 18 of the 49 states with partisan legislatures had single-party trifectas and 31 states had divided governments. In 2013, only 13 states had divided governments, while single-party trifectas held sway in 36 states, the most in the 22 years studied.

The chart below shows the partisan composition of the Office of the Governor of Indiana, the Indiana State Senate and the Indiana House of Representatives from 1992 to 2013.

SQLI and partisanship

The chart below depicts the partisanship of the Indiana state government and the state's SQLI ranking for the years studied. For the SQLI, the states were ranked from 1-50, with 1 being the best and 50 the worst. Indiana had a long period of divided government between 1992 and 2004 until the arrival of a Republican trifecta in 2005. Indiana reverted back to divided government between 2007 and 2010 before reverting yet again to a Republican trifecta in 2011. The state has never had a Democratic trifecta. Indiana’s highest SQLI ranking came in 1995 (12th) under divided government, while the state’s lowest SQLI ranking came in 2009 (34th), also under divided government. The state’s greatest leap in the ranking occurred between 1994 and 1995, where Indiana rose seven spots. Its greatest decline in the ranking occurred between 2003 and 2004, where the state dropped seven spots.

• SQLI average with Democratic trifecta: N/A
• SQLI average with Republican trifecta: 29.25
• SQLI average with divided government: 20.82

Chart displaying the partisanship of Indiana government from 1992-2013 and the State Quality of Life Index (SQLI).

State profile

Demographic data for Indiana
	Indiana	U.S.
Total population:	6,612,768	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	35,826	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	84.2%	73.6%
Black/African American:	9.2%	12.6%
Asian:	1.9%	5.1%
Native American:	0.2%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.2%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	6.4%	17.1%
Bildung
High school graduation rate:	87.8%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	24.1%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$49,255	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	18.4%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Indiana. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Indiana

Indiana voted Republican in five out of the six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in Indiana, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Indiana had five Retained Pivot Counties, 2.76 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

More Indiana coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Indiana
• United States congressional delegations from Indiana
• Public policy in Indiana
• Endorsers in Indiana
• Indiana fact checks
• More...

Contact information

Office of the Governor
Statehouse
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-2797
Phone: 317-232-4567

See also

• Indiana state executive offices
• Indiana state executive officials

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Indiana Office of the Governor