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2016 Indiana gubernatorial election
The 2016 Indiana gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2016, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Indiana, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on May 3, 2016. Republican lieutenant governor Eric Holcomb won the race with 51.4% of the vote.
Incumbent Republican Governor Mike Pence was running for reelection to a second term in office until July 15, 2016, when then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump selected Pence as his vice presidential running mate. As Pence was barred by Indiana law from simultaneously running for both offices, he subsequently withdrew from the gubernatorial election. Pence went on to be elected Vice President of the United States. He was replaced on the ballot for governor by his former running mate, incumbent lieutenant governor Eric Holcomb, who was selected by the Indiana Republican State Committee as the nominee on July 26, 2016. Holcomb later selected State Auditor Suzanne Crouch on August 1, 2016, to be his running mate as the nomination for lieutenant governor was made vacant by the decision of Holcomb to seek the gubernatorial nomination; she was confirmed at a subsequent meeting of the Indiana Republican State Committee later that day.
John Gregg, the former Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives, was the Democratic nominee. Gregg previously ran for governor in 2012 but was defeated by Pence. As of 2026, this is the last time an Indiana gubernatorial election was decided by single digits.
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Mike Pence, incumbent governor (withdrew after primary to run for Vice President of the United States as the running mate of Donald Trump)
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Greg Ballard, former mayor of Indianapolis
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Susan Brooks, U.S. Representative from Indiana's 5th congressional district and former United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana (ran for re-election)
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Luke Messer, U.S. Representative from Indiana's 6th congressional district (ran for re-election)
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Todd Young, U.S. Representative from Indiana's 9th congressional district (ran for U.S. Senate)
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | 815,699 | 100.00% | |
| 815,699 | 100.00% |
On July 15, 2016, Donald Trump announced that Pence would be his running mate as vice president in the 2016 presidential election. Under Indiana law, Pence was unable to run for both governor and vice president simultaneously; he therefore withdrew from the gubernatorial election, creating a vacancy on the Republican ticket. On July 26, the chairman of the Indiana Republican Party, Jeff Cardwell, announced that Eric Holcomb had been nominated by the Indiana Republican State Committee to replace Pence on the ballot for governor. The vote totals were not released. Holcomb later selected Suzanne Crouch on August 1, 2016, to be his running mate as the nomination for lieutenant governor was made vacant by the decision of Holcomb to seek the gubernatorial nomination; she was then confirmed by the Committee at a meeting later that day.
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Susan Brooks, U.S. Representative and former United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana
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Eric Holcomb, Lieutenant Governor of Indiana
- Running mate: Suzanne Crouch, Indiana State Auditor
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Todd Rokita, U.S. Representative and former Indiana Secretary of State
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Jim Tomes, state senator
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Brian Bosma, Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives
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Mitch Daniels, former governor of Indiana
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Lloyd Winnecke, Mayor of Evansville
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John R. Gregg, former Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives and nominee for Governor in 2012
- Running mate: Christina Hale, state representative
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Glenda Ritz, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction (ran for re-election)
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Karen Tallian, state senator
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Evan Bayh, former U.S. Senator and former governor of Indiana (ran for U.S. Senate)
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Pete Buttigieg, Mayor of South Bend
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Greg Goodnight, Mayor of Kokomo
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Baron Hill, former U.S. Representative from Indiana's 9th congressional district and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1990
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Scott Pelath, Minority Leader of the Indiana House of Representatives
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Tony Roswarski, Mayor of Lafayette
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Tom Sugar, vice president of Complete College America and former aide to Evan Bayh
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 547,375 | 100.00 | |
| 547,375 | 100.00 |
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Rex Bell, businessman
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Jim Wallace
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Rex Bell, businessman
- Running mate: Karl Tatgenhorst
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Democratic: John R. Gregg, former Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives and nominee for Governor in 2012
- Running mate: Christina Hale, state representative
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Libertarian: Rex Bell, businessman
- Running mate: Karl Tatgenhorst
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Republican: Eric Holcomb, Lieutenant Governor of Indiana
- Running mate: Suzanne Crouch, Indiana State Auditor
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Governor:
- Complete video of debate, September 27, 2016 - C-SPAN
- Complete video of debate, October 3, 2016 - C-SPAN
- Complete video of debate, October 25, 2016 - C-SPAN
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Lt. Governor:
- Complete video of debate, August 9, 2016 - Hoosier Ag Today
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report | Tossup | August 12, 2016 |
| Daily Kos | Tossup | October 14, 2016 |
| Rothenberg Political Report | Tilt R | November 3, 2016 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Lean D (flip) | November 7, 2016 |
| Real Clear Politics | Tossup | November 1, 2016 |
| Governing | Tossup | October 27, 2016 |
Aggregate polls
| Source of pollaggregation | Datesadministered | Datesupdated | EricHolcomb (R) | JohnGregg (D) | Other/Undecided | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Clear Politics | October 27 – November 3, 2016 | November 3, 2016 | 40.7% | 44.0% | 15.3% | Gregg +3.3% |
Graphical summary
| Poll source | Date(s)administered | Samplesize | Margin oferror | EricHolcomb (R) | JohnGregg (D) | RexBell (L) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyMonkey | November 1–7, 2016 | 1,700 | ± 4.6% | 47% | 49% | – | 4% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 31 – November 6, 2016 | 1,383 | ± 4.6% | 46% | 49% | – | 5% |
| WTHR/Howey | November 1–3, 2016 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 42% | 42% | 5% | 11% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 28 – November 3, 2016 | 923 | ± 4.6% | 47% | 47% | – | 6% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 27 – November 2, 2016 | 790 | ± 4.6% | 48% | 47% | – | 5% |
| Gravis Marketing | October 30 – November 1, 2016 | 399 | ± 4.9% | 38% | 42% | 4% | 16% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 26 – November 1, 2016 | 638 | ± 4.6% | 49% | 47% | – | 4% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 25–31, 2016 | 674 | ± 4.6% | 47% | 48% | – | 5% |
| Monmouth University | October 27–30, 2016 | 402 | ± 4.9% | 42% | 48% | 4% | 5% |
| Gravis Marketing | October 22–24, 2016 | 596 | ± 2.3% | 38% | 42% | 4% | 16% |
| Ball State University (PSRAI) | October 10–16, 2016 | 544 | ± 4.8% | 43% | 48% | – | – |
| Monmouth University | October 11–13, 2016 | 402 | ± 4.9% | 38% | 50% | 4% | 7% |
| BK Strategies (R-Holcomb) | October 11–13, 2016 | 800 | ± 3.5% | 42% | 42% | 3% | 13% |
| WTHR/Howey | October 3–5, 2016 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 39% | 41% | 5% | 15% |
| WTHR/Howey | September 6–8, 2016 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 35% | 40% | 6% | 19% |
| Monmouth University | August 13–16, 2016 | 403 | ± 4.9% | 42% | 41% | 4% | 13% |
| Expedition Strategies (D-Gregg) | August 1–3, 2016 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 39% | 46% | 6% | 9% |
| The Tarrance Group | July 20–21, 2016 | 503 | ± 4.4% | 34% | 42% | – | 24% |
Holcomb won with 51.4% of the votes, with Gregg taking 45.4%, and Libertarian Rex Bell finishing with 3.2%.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | .mw-parser-output .tooltip-dotted{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}±% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | 1,397,396 | 51.38% | +1.89% | |
| Democratic | 1,235,503 | 45.42% | −1.14% | |
| Libertarian | 87,025 | 3.20% | −0.75% | |
| Write-in | 44 | 0.00% | 0.00% | |
| 2,719,968 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
- Crawford (largest city: Marengo)
- Greene (largest city: Linton)
- Madison (largest city: Anderson)
- Pike (largest city: Petersburg)
- Scott (largest city: Scottsburg)
- Starke (largest city: Knox)
Holcomb won seven of nine congressional districts.
| District | Holcomb | Gregg | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36% | 62% | Pete Visclosky | |
| 53% | 43% | Jackie Walorski | |
| 60% | 37% | Marlin Stutzman | |
| 58% | 39% | Todd Rokita | |
| 52% | 45% | Susan Brooks | |
| 59% | 36% | Luke Messer | |
| 34% | 63% | André Carson | |
| 52% | 45% | Larry Bucshon | |
| 56% | 41% | Todd Young |
Official campaign websites (archived)
- Eric Holcomb (R) for Governor
- John Gregg (D) for Governor
- Rex Bell (L) for Governor
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