2020 Indiana gubernatorial election
The 2020 Indiana gubernatorial election was won by incumbent Republican Eric Holcomb on November 3, 2020. The election was held concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election , as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections .
Holcomb was eligible to run for re-election to a second term in office, and announced his intention to do so on July 13, 2019 alongside his lieutenant governor , Suzanne Crouch .[ 1] He faced Democrat Woody Myers , the former health commissioner of Indiana (and later, of New York City ) and his running mate, Linda Lawson , the former minority leader of the Indiana House of Representatives , in addition to Libertarian Donald Rainwater, a U.S. Navy veteran and his running mate William Henry.[ 2] [ 3] Primary elections were held on June 2; Holcomb and Myers ran unopposed.
In the general election, Holcomb won re-election to a second term. Myers also became the first major party candidate to receive fewer than one million votes since Republican David McIntosh in 2000 .[ 4] The election was also notable for the strong performance of Libertarian candidate Rainwater, who finished in second place, behind Holcomb and ahead of Myers, in over one-third of Indiana's counties, 33 out of 92.[ 5] The stronger-than-expected performance by Rainwater was perceived to be a reaction to Governor Holcomb's response to the COVID-19 pandemic , with Rainwater pushing for fewer government restrictions.[ 6]
The Associated Press’s large-scale pre-election survey found that Eric Holcomb won white Hoosiers 62–27%, while Myers won black Hoosiers 76–20%.[ 7]
This election marked the worst performance by a Democratic candidate for governor in Indiana history.[ 8]
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
Removed from ballot
Declined
Results
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
Withdrew
Declined
Pete Buttigieg , former mayor of South Bend and former 2020 presidential candidate [ 21]
Joe Donnelly , former U.S. senator [ 22]
Greg Goodnight, former mayor of Kokomo [ 22]
John R. Gregg , former speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives , former state representative from the 45th district, and Democratic nominee for governor in 2012 and 2016 [ 21]
Christina Hale , state representative from the 87th district and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2016[ 21] (running for Indiana's 5th Congressional district )
Baron Hill , former U.S. representative from Indiana's 9th congressional district [ 23] (endorsed Myers)
Joe Hogsett , mayor of Indianapolis [ 22]
Karlee Macer , state representative from the 92nd district [ 24]
Thomas McDermott Jr. , mayor of Hammond [ 22] (running for Indiana's 1st congressional district )
Jonathan Weinzapfel , former mayor of Evansville (running for Attorney General )[ 25]
Results
Libertarian convention
Candidates
Nominee
Running mate: William Henry
Eliminated at convention
General election
Predictions
Endorsements
Woody Myers (D)
U.S. vice presidents
U.S. senators
U.S. representatives
State officials
State senators
Jean Breaux , Member of the Indiana Senate from the 34th district (2006–present)[ 42]
J. D. Ford , Member of the Indiana Senate from the 34th district (2018–present)[ 42]
Tim Lanane, Minority Leader of the Indiana Senate (2008–present) and Member of the Indiana Senate from the 25th district (1997–present)[ 42]
Eddie Melton , Member of the Indiana Senate from the 34th district (2016–present)[ 42]
State representatives
Local officials
Donald Rainwater (L)
Organizations
State representatives
Jim Lucas (R), Member of the Indiana House of Representatives from the 69th district (2012–present)[ 45]
Individuals
Polling
Graphical summary
Results
Holcomb won reelection by over 24 percentage points, the biggest margin of victory for an Indiana gubernatorial candidate since Evan Bayh in 1992 as well as the biggest ever for a Republican. Exit polls show Holcomb won over 30% of voters who voted for Democrat Joe Biden for president. This is also one of the strongest performances for a third party candidate in a statewide election in Indiana , with Libertarian nominee Donald Rainwater receiving over 11% of the total vote. Rainwater outperformed Myers in several counties; his best performance was in Putnam County , where he received nearly 26% of the vote.
By county
Vote breakdown by county[ 47]
Holcomb/Crouch Republican
Myers/Lawson Democratic
Rainwater/Henry Libertarian
Total
County
Votes
%
Votes
%
Votes
%
Votes
Adams
9,441
66.7%
2,143
15.1%
2,570
18.2%
14,154
Allen
98,406
58.5%
53,895
32.0%
16,011
9.5%
168,312
Bartholomew
21,959
60.9%
9,013
25.0%
5,065
14.1%
36,037
Benton
2,815
68.7%
671
16.4%
614
15.0%
4,100
Blackford
3,333
63.1%
933
17.7%
1,017
19.3%
5,283
Boone
23,737
61.7%
9,661
25.1%
5,094
13.2%
38,492
Brown
4,953
55.3%
2,381
26.6%
1,623
18.1%
8,957
Carroll
6,077
63.9%
1,569
16.5%
1,864
19.6%
9,510
Cass
8,833
58.3%
3,373
22.3%
2,940
19.4%
15,146
Clark
34,669
60.4%
19,077
33.2%
3,680
6.4%
57,426
Clay
8,164
67.0%
1,780
14.6%
2,242
18.4%
12,186
Clinton
7,971
61.8%
2,406
18.7%
2,514
19.5%
12,891
Crawford
3,064
63.1%
1,242
25.6%
553
11.4%
4,859
Daviess
8,313
70.1%
1,531
12.9%
2,016
17.0%
11,860
Dearborn
18,353
72.6%
4,559
18.0%
2,383
9.4%
25,295
Decatur
7,911
64.5%
1,562
12.7%
2,787
22.7%
12,260
Dekalb
13,042
66.9%
3,293
16.9%
3,158
16.2%
19,493
Delaware
26,829
56.0%
15,638
32.6%
5,482
11.4%
47,949
Dubois
14,403
66.7%
4,586
21.2%
2,599
12.0%
21,588
Elkhart
46,223
62.1%
20,512
27.6%
7,690
10.3%
74,425
Fayette
6,933
69.0%
1,707
17.0%
1,414
14.1%
10,054
Floyd
24,972
60.0%
14,948
35.9%
1,669
4.0%
41,589
Fountain
5,189
65.3%
1,150
14.5%
1,613
20.3%
7,952
Franklin
8,633
73.0%
1,690
14.3%
1,499
12.7%
11,822
Fulton
5,436
59.6%
1,603
17.6%
2,084
22.8%
9,123
Gibson
11,607
72.0%
2,990
18.5%
1,533
9.5%
16,130
Grant
16,847
62.3%
5,849
21.6%
4,325
16.0%
27,021
Greene
9,579
65.2%
2,511
17.1%
2,604
17.7%
14,694
Hamilton
117,749
60.8%
58,714
30.3%
17,121
8.8%
193,584
Hancock
25,647
59.9%
8,538
19.9%
8,624
20.1%
42,809
Harrison
14,083
69.7%
4,514
22.3%
1,602
7.9%
20,199
Hendricks
50,697
57.5%
23,179
26.3%
14,246
16.2%
88,122
Henry
12,491
59.3%
4,128
19.6%
4,442
21.1%
21,061
Howard
24,359
60.1%
9,871
24.3%
6,317
15.6%
40,547
Huntington
11,759
66.3%
2,804
15.8%
3,168
17.9%
17,731
Jackson
11,714
61.2%
3,234
16.9%
4,188
21.9%
19,136
Jasper
10,378
67.5%
2,904
18.9%
2,089
13.6%
15,371
Jay
5,227
62.2%
1,240
14.8%
1,938
23.1%
8,405
Jefferson
9,076
62.4%
3,711
25.5%
1,750
12.0%
14,537
Jennings
7,547
62.1%
1,930
15.9%
2,676
22.0%
12,153
Johnson
47,467
61.4%
17,630
22.8%
12,177
15.8%
77,274
Knox
11,210
70.8%
2,809
17.7%
1,821
11.5%
15,840
Kosciusko
23,029
64.6%
5,784
16.2%
6,845
19.2%
35,658
Lagrange
7,520
71.1%
1,690
16.0%
1,365
12.9%
10,575
Lake
94,841
43.7%
112,352
51.7%
10,039
4.6%
217,232
LaPorte
26,129
53.7%
18,133
37.3%
4,356
9.0%
48,618
Lawrence
13,371
64.1%
3,616
17.3%
3,881
18.6%
20,868
Madison
29,434
56.8%
14,254
27.5%
8,118
15.7%
51,806
Marion
152,405
39.0%
203,475
52.1%
34,974
8.9%
390,854
Marshall
13,145
66.4%
4,025
20.3%
2,634
13.3%
19,804
Martin
3,232
63.1%
709
13.9%
1,177
23.0%
5,118
Miami
9,208
64.1%
2,439
17.0%
2,714
18.9%
14,361
Monroe
24,605
39.4%
33,033
52.8%
4,885
7.8%
62,523
Montgomery
10,587
61.6%
2,812
16.4%
3,785
22.0%
17,184
Morgan
22,161
61.6%
5,602
15.6%
8,184
22.8%
35,947
Newton
4,358
66.5%
1,148
17.5%
1,050
16.0%
6,556
Noble
12,498
65.5%
3,237
17.0%
3,353
17.6%
19,088
Ohio
2,210
69.4%
641
20.1%
335
10.5%
3,186
Orange
5,591
63.8%
1,952
22.3%
1,216
13.9%
8,759
Owen
5,857
59.5%
1,852
18.8%
2,137
21.7%
9,846
Parke
4,766
68.4%
1,127
16.2%
1,079
15.5%
6,972
Perry
5,523
63.9%
2,518
29.1%
607
7.0%
8,648
Pike
4,199
68.4%
1,092
17.8%
850
13.8%
6,141
Porter
45,996
53.2%
33,397
38.6%
7,131
8.2%
86,524
Posey
9,648
72.9%
2,773
21.0%
809
6.1%
13,230
Pulaski
3,874
67.2%
1,019
17.7%
875
15.2%
5,768
Putnam
9,375
56.7%
2,876
17.4%
4,269
25.8%
16,520
Randolph
7,399
67.3%
1,863
16.9%
1,732
15.8%
10,994
Ripley
9,518
67.0%
2,231
15.7%
2,458
17.3%
14,207
Rush
4,949
62.8%
1,215
15.4%
1,716
21.8%
7,880
Scott
6,065
60.8%
2,297
23.0%
1,613
16.2%
9,975
Shelby
12,269
61.8%
3,499
17.6%
4,099
20.6%
19,867
Spencer
7,272
68.2%
2,461
23.1%
926
8.7%
10,659
St. Joseph
60,696
52.9%
48,610
42.4%
5,387
4.7%
114,693
Starke
6,730
66.1%
2,026
19.9%
1,427
14.0%
10,183
Steuben
11,407
70.9%
2,939
18.3%
1,739
10.8%
16,085
Sullivan
6,009
67.4%
1,550
17.4%
1,357
15.2%
8,916
Switzerland
2,846
69.8%
822
20.1%
412
10.1%
4,080
Tippecanoe
37,979
53.3%
26,179
36.8%
7,057
9.9%
71,215
Tipton
5,169
64.0%
1,200
14.9%
1,707
21.1%
8,076
Union
2,533
73.2%
603
17.4%
323
9.3%
3,459
Vanderburgh
46,490
60.1%
27,242
35.2%
3,658
4.7%
77,390
Vermillion
4,938
66.9%
1,531
20.7%
917
12.4%
7,386
Vigo
25,917
59.8%
13,999
32.3%
3,419
7.9%
43,335
Wabash
9,111
62.8%
2,421
16.7%
2,979
20.5%
14,511
Warren
3,009
67.5%
672
15.1%
777
17.4%
4,458
Warrick
22,703
67.7%
9,074
27.1%
1,747
5.2%
33,524
Washington
7,919
65.6%
2,408
19.9%
1,746
14.5%
12,073
Wayne
16,914
61.2%
7,534
27.3%
3,172
11.5%
27,620
Wells
9,371
66.7%
1,967
14.0%
2,712
19.3%
14,050
White
7,334
65.8%
1,978
17.8%
1,826
16.4%
11,138
Whitley
11,522
66.0%
2,738
15.7%
3,191
18.3%
17,451
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
By congressional district
Holcomb won 7 of 9 congressional districts.[ 50]
Notes
^ Key: A – all adults RV – registered voters LV – likely voters V – unclear
^ Undecided with 10%
^ Undecided with 8%
^ Undecided with 11%
^ Undecided with 22%
Partisan clients
^ Polling's funding was crowdsourced by Election Twitter.
^ a b Poll sponsored by Eric Holcomb's campaign
References
^ a b Smith, Casey (July 13, 2019). "Gov. Eric Holcomb to run for reelection: 'Let's keep making Hoosier history for four more years' " . Indianapolis Star . Retrieved July 13, 2019 .
^ "2020 General Election Candidate List - Abbreviated" (PDF) . Indiana Secretary of State (Election Division) . Archived from the original (PDF) on October 3, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020 .
^ "Libertarian governor candidate Donald Rainwater to visit Kokomo" . Kokomo Tribune . October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2020 .
^ "2000 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Indiana" . Retrieved March 31, 2023 .
^ Martin, Ryan; Sikich, Chris. " 'We sent a message': Donald Rainwater doesn't win, sets Indiana Libertarian record" . IndyStar . Retrieved May 8, 2021 .
^ Sikich, Chris. "Indiana Libertarian candidate for governor targets voters upset by COVID-19 mandates" . The Indianapolis Star . Retrieved March 16, 2022 .
^ "Poll Results" . November 3, 2021.
^ "Our Campaigns - Container Detail Page" . www.ourcampaigns.com . Retrieved March 18, 2022 .
^ Erdody, Lindsey (September 10, 2019). "Carmel Republican planning election run against Holcomb" . Indianapolis Business Journal . Retrieved September 10, 2019 .
^ Smith, Brandon (September 11, 2019). "Carmel Republican Files For Potential Holcomb Challenge" . WFYI . Retrieved September 21, 2019 .
^ Sikich, Chris (September 11, 2019). "Westfield Republican signs up to challenge Gov. Holcomb in primary" . Indianapolis Star . Retrieved September 23, 2019 .
^ Berman, Eric (February 21, 2020). "CHALLENGERS TO HOLCOMB AND BAIRD BOOTED FROM PRIMARY BALLOT" . WIBC . Retrieved February 22, 2020 .
^ "Hill challenging Holcomb? A fool's errand" . howeypolitics.com . Archived from the original on April 24, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018 .
^ "Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill announces re-election campaign" . WNDU . November 14, 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2019 .
^ a b "Indiana State Primary Election Results 2020" . Indiana Secretary of State . June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020 .
^ Davies, Tom (July 11, 2019). "Business executive enters 2020 Indiana governor's race" . AP News . Retrieved July 11, 2019 .
^ Johnson, Dirk (January 20, 1990). "Man in the News: Woodrow Augustus Myers Jr.; A Commissioner Who Knows Strife" . The New York Times . ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved October 2, 2020 .
^ VanTryon, Matthew (May 8, 2020). "Indiana Democratic gubernatorial candidate Woody Myers names running mate" . The Indianapolis Star . Retrieved September 23, 2020 .
^ "Senator Eddie Melton withdraws from Indiana's governor race" . FOX 59 . January 6, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2020 .
^ Sikich, Chris (February 6, 2020). "Democrat Josh Owens withdraws from governor's race, endorses Woody Myers" . Indianapolis Star .
^ a b c Howey, Brian A. (November 29, 2018). "INDems ponder future after Donnelly loss" (PDF) . Howey Politics Indiana. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018 .
^ a b c d Howey, Brian A. (March 21, 2019). "Democrats ponder gov race" (PDF) . Howey Politics Indiana. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 21, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2019 .
^ Howey, Brian A. (May 16, 2019). "Holcomb reelect on historic footing" (PDF) . Howey Politics Indiana. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 24, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2019 .
^ Hakim-Shabazz, Abdul (August 13, 2019). "Macer Not Running For Governor" . Indy Politics. Retrieved August 13, 2019 .
^ Langhorne, Thomas B. (December 10, 2019). "Former Evansville mayor Weinzapfel will run for Attorney General" . Courier & Press .
^ Hakim-Shabazz, Abdul (February 29, 2020). "LIBERTARIAN GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES DEBATE" . Indy Politics . Retrieved March 2, 2020 .
^ WTHR.com Staff. "Indiana Libertarians nominate Rainwater for Governor" . wthr.com . Archived from the original on March 10, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020 .
^ "First Church of Cannabis founder Bill Levin running for Indiana governor" . RTV6 Indianapolis. July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019 .
^ "2020 Governor Race Ratings for October 23, 2020" . The Cook Political Report . Retrieved March 11, 2021 .
^ "2020 Gubernatorial Ratings" . insideelections.com . Retrieved March 11, 2021 .
^ "2020 Gubernatorial race ratings" . Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball . November 2, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2021 .
^ "We rated every gubernatorial race in 2020. Here's who we think will win" . Politico . Retrieved November 19, 2019 .
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link )
^ "Endorsements" . Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020 .
^ Carden, Dan (September 16, 2020). "Biden calls on Hoosiers to elect Dr. Woody Myers as Indiana governor" . The Times of Northwest Indiana .
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^ https://www.in.gov/sos/elections/voter-information/files/Election_Turnout_and_Registration_20201202_052923PM.pdf [bare URL PDF ]
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