| Election Name: | 2016 Indiana gubernatorial election |
| Country: | Indiana |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2012 Indiana gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 2012 |
| Next Election: | 2020 Indiana gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 2020 |
| Election Date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Image1: | File:Holcomb Official Headshot (cropped).jpg |
| Nominee1: | Eric Holcomb |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Running Mate1: | Suzanne Crouch |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,397,396 |
| Percentage1: | 51.38% |
| Nominee2: | John R. Gregg |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Running Mate2: | Christina Hale |
| Popular Vote2: | 1,235,503 |
| Percentage2: | 45.42% |
| Map Size: | 250px |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | Mike Pence |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Eric Holcomb |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
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.[1] As Pence was barred by Indiana law from simultaneously running for both offices, he subsequently withdrew from the gubernatorial election.[2] 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.[3] 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.[3]
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.
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.[3] [8]
| Source | Ranking | As of | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | The Cook Political Report[24] | August 12, 2016 | ||
| align=left | Daily Kos[25] | November 8, 2016 | ||
| align=left | Rothenberg Political Report[26] | November 3, 2016 | ||
| align=left | Sabato's Crystal Ball[27] | November 7, 2016 | ||
| align=left | Real Clear Politics[28] | November 1, 2016 | ||
| align=left | Governing[29] | October 27, 2016 |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Eric Holcomb (R) | John Gregg (D) | Rex Bell (L) | Undecided | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyMonkey | November 1–7, 2016 | 1,700 | ± 4.6% | 47% | align=center | 49% | – | 4% | |
| SurveyMonkey | October 31 – November 6, 2016 | 1,383 | ± 4.6% | 46% | align=center | 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% | align=center | 48% | 47% | – | 5% | |
| Gravis Marketing | October 30 – November 1, 2016 | 399 | ± 4.9% | 38% | align=center | 42% | 4% | 16% | |
| SurveyMonkey | October 26 – November 1, 2016 | 638 | ± 4.6% | align=center | 49% | 47% | – | 4% | |
| SurveyMonkey | October 25–31, 2016 | 674 | ± 4.6% | 47% | align=center | 48% | – | 5% | |
| Monmouth University | October 27–30, 2016 | 402 | ± 4.9% | 42% | align=center | 48% | 4% | 5% | |
| Gravis Marketing | October 22–24, 2016 | 596 | ± 2.3% | 38% | align=center | 42% | 4% | 16% | |
| Ball State University (PSRAI) | October 10–16, 2016 | 544 | ± 4.8% | 43% | align=center | 48% | – | – | |
| Monmouth University | October 11–13, 2016 | 402 | ± 4.9% | 38% | align=center | 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% | align=center | 41% | 5% | 15% | |
| WTHR/Howey | September 6–8, 2016 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 35% | align=center | 40% | 6% | 19% | |
| Monmouth University | August 13–16, 2016 | 403 | ± 4.9% | align=center | 42% | 41% | 4% | 13% | |
| Expedition Strategies (D-Gregg) | August 1–3, 2016 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 39% | align=center | 46% | 6% | 9% | |
| The Tarrance Group | July 20–21, 2016 | 503 | ± 4.4% | 34% | align=center | 42% | – | 24% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | class=small | Sample size | class=small | Margin of error | Mike Pence (R) | John Gregg (D) | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellwether Research | May 11–15, 2016 | 600 | ± 4.0% | align=center | 40% | 36% | — | 24% | |
| WTHR/Howey | April 18–21, 2016 | 500 | ± 4.3% | align=center | 49% | 45% | 1% | 5% | |
| Bellwether Research | May 29–June 3, 2015 | 800 | ± 3.5% | 40% | align=center | 41% | — | 19% | |
| Bellwether Research | April 12–14, 2015 | 607 | ± 4.0% | align=center | 43% | 37% | — | 21% | |
| GQR Research | April 7–9, 2015 | 500 | ± 4.4% | 47% | 47% | — | 6% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | class=small | Sample size | Margin of error | Susan Brooks (R) | John Gregg (D) | Other | Undecided | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Tarrance Group | July 20–21, 2016 | 503 | ± 4.4% | 36% | align=center | 41% | — | 23% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | class=small | Sample size | Margin of error | Todd Rokita (R) | John Gregg (D) | Other | Undecided | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Tarrance Group | July 20–21, 2016 | 503 | ± 4.4% | 36% | align=center | 41% | — | 23% | |
| Public Opinion Strategies | July 16–18, 2016 | 600 | ± 4.0% | align=center | 45% | 43% | — | 12% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | class=small | Sample size | class=small | Margin of error | Mike Pence (R) | Baron Hill (D) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellwether Research | April 12–14, 2015 | 607 | ± 4% | align=center | 43% | 36% | 21% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | class=small | Sample size | class=small | Margin of error | Mike Pence (R) | Glenda Ritz (D) | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellwether Research | May 29–June 3, 2015 | 800 | ± 3.5% | 42% | 42% | — | 16% | ||
| Bellwether Research | April 12–14, 2015 | 607 | ± 4% | align=center | 42% | 39% | — | 18% |
Holcomb won with 51.4% of the votes, with Gregg taking 45.4%, and Libertarian Rex Bell finishing with 3.2%.[30]
Holcomb won 7 of 9 congressional districts.[31]
| 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 |