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2020 Indiana gubernatorial election

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For related races, see 2020 United States gubernatorial elections.

2020 Indiana gubernatorial election
← 2016 November 3, 2020 2024 →
 
Nominee Eric Holcomb Woody Myers Donald Rainwater
Party Republican Democratic Libertarian
Running mate Suzanne Crouch Linda Lawson William Henry
Popular vote 1,706,727 968,094 345,569
Percentage 56.51% 32.05% 11.44%
Holcomb:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Myers:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tie:      40–50%      50%      No data
Governor before election

Eric Holcomb
Republican

Elected Governor

Eric Holcomb
Republican

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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

[edit]

Candidates

[edit]

Nominee

[edit]

Removed from ballot

[edit]

Declined

[edit]

Results

[edit]
Republican primary results[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Eric Holcomb (incumbent) 524,496 100.00%
Total votes 524,496 100.00%

Democratic primary

[edit]

Candidates

[edit]

Nominee

[edit]

Withdrew

[edit]

Declined

[edit]

Results

[edit]
Democratic primary results[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Woody Myers 408,230 100.00%
Total votes 408,230 100.00%

Libertarian convention

[edit]

Candidates

[edit]

Nominee

[edit]
  • Running mate: William Henry

Eliminated at convention

[edit]

General election

[edit]

Predictions

[edit]
Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[29] Safe R October 23, 2020
Inside Elections[30] Safe R October 28, 2020
Sabato's Crystal Ball[31] Safe R November 2, 2020
Politico[32] Likely R November 2, 2020
Daily Kos[33] Safe R October 28, 2020
RCP[34] Safe R November 2, 2020
270towin[35] Safe R November 2, 2020

Endorsements

[edit]
Eric Holcomb (R)

Organizations

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

[edit]

Graphical summary

[edit]
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Eric
Holcomb (R) 		Woody
Myers (D) 		Donald
Rainwater (L) 		Other /
Undecided
Cygnal[47] October 21–23, 2020 600 (LV) ± 4% 47% 29% 15% 10%[b]
Ragnar Research (R)[48] October 18–21, 2020 529 (LV) ± 4% 52% 26% 14% 8%[c]
SurveyUSA[49][A] October 10–13, 2020 527 (LV) ± 5.2% 55% 25% 10% 11%[d]
BK Strategies (R)[50][B] October 4–5, 2020 600 (LV) ± 4% 60% 21% 8% 11%
Change Research[51] September 3–7, 2020 1,033 (LV) ± 3.1% 36% 30% 24% 10%
BK Strategies (R)[52][B] May 20–21, 2020 600 (LV) ± 4% 64% 21% – 15%
Change Research[53] April 10–13, 2020 1,021 (LV) ± 3.1% 45% 25% 8% 22%[e]

Results

[edit]

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.

Indiana gubernatorial election, 2020[54][55][56]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican
1,706,727 56.51% +5.13%
Democratic
968,094 32.05% −13.37%
Libertarian
  • Donald Rainwater
  • William Henry
 345,567 11.44% +8.24%
Total votes 3,020,388 100.00% N/A
Turnout 3,068,625 65.58%
Registered electors 4,751,370
Republican hold

By county

[edit]
Vote breakdown by county[54]
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

[edit]

Holcomb won 7 of 9 congressional districts.[57]

District Holcomb Myers Rainwater Representative
1st 47% 48% 6% Frank J. Mrvan
2nd 59% 31% 10% Jackie Walorski
3rd 62% 24% 13% Jim Banks
4th 59% 25% 16% Jim Baird
5th 56% 34% 10% Victoria Spartz
6th 63% 22% 15% Greg Pence
7th 37% 53% 10% André Carson
8th 65% 25% 10% Larry Bucshon
9th 58% 30% 12% Trey Hollingsworth

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  2. ^ Undecided with 10%
  3. ^ Undecided with 8%
  4. ^ Undecided with 11%
  5. ^ Undecided with 22%

Partisan clients

  1. ^ Polling's funding was crowdsourced by Election Twitter.
  2. ^ a b Poll sponsored by Eric Holcomb's campaign

References

[edit]
  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "Libertarian governor candidate Donald Rainwater to visit Kokomo". Kokomo Tribune. October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  4. ^ "2000 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Indiana". Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  5. ^ Martin, Ryan; Sikich, Chris. "'We sent a message': Donald Rainwater doesn't win, sets Indiana Libertarian record". IndyStar. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  6. ^ Sikich, Chris. "Indiana Libertarian candidate for governor targets voters upset by COVID-19 mandates". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  7. ^ "Poll Results". November 3, 2021.
  8. ^ "Our Campaigns - Container Detail Page". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  9. ^ Erdody, Lindsey (September 10, 2019). "Carmel Republican planning election run against Holcomb". Indianapolis Business Journal. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  10. ^ Smith, Brandon (September 11, 2019). "Carmel Republican Files For Potential Holcomb Challenge". WFYI. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  11. ^ Sikich, Chris (September 11, 2019). "Westfield Republican signs up to challenge Gov. Holcomb in primary". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  12. ^ Berman, Eric (February 21, 2020). "CHALLENGERS TO HOLCOMB AND BAIRD BOOTED FROM PRIMARY BALLOT". WIBC. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  13. ^ "Hill challenging Holcomb? A fool's errand". howeypolitics.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  14. ^ "Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill announces re-election campaign". WNDU. November 14, 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  15. ^ a b "Indiana State Primary Election Results 2020". Indiana Secretary of State. June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  16. ^ Davies, Tom (July 11, 2019). "Business executive enters 2020 Indiana governor's race". AP News. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ VanTryon, Matthew (May 8, 2020). "Indiana Democratic gubernatorial candidate Woody Myers names running mate". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  19. ^ "Senator Eddie Melton withdraws from Indiana's governor race". FOX 59. January 6, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  20. ^ Sikich, Chris (February 6, 2020). "Democrat Josh Owens withdraws from governor's race, endorses Woody Myers". Indianapolis Star.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ Hakim-Shabazz, Abdul (August 13, 2019). "Macer Not Running For Governor". Indy Politics. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  25. ^ Langhorne, Thomas B. (December 10, 2019). "Former Evansville mayor Weinzapfel will run for Attorney General". Courier & Press.
  26. ^ Hakim-Shabazz, Abdul (February 29, 2020). "LIBERTARIAN GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES DEBATE". Indy Politics. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  27. ^ WTHR.com Staff. "Indiana Libertarians nominate Rainwater for Governor". wthr.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  28. ^ "First Church of Cannabis founder Bill Levin running for Indiana governor". RTV6 Indianapolis. July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  29. ^ "2020 Governor Race Ratings for October 23, 2020". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  30. ^ "2020 Gubernatorial Ratings". insideelections.com. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  31. ^ "2020 Gubernatorial race ratings". Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 2, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  32. ^ "We rated every gubernatorial race in 2020. Here's who we think will win". Politico. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  33. ^ "2020 Governor Race Ratings". Daily Kos. June 1, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  34. ^ "2020 Governor Races". RealClearPolitics. June 13, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  35. ^ "2020 Gubernatorial Elections Map". 270towin.
  36. ^ "2020 Endorsements". Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  37. ^ "Endorsements". Governor Eric Holcomb. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  38. ^ "Indiana Endorsements". Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  39. ^ "Indiana Grades & Endorsements". nrapvf.org. NRA-PVF. Archived from the original on November 3, 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  40. ^ "Endorsements". Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  41. ^ Carden, Dan (September 16, 2020). "Biden calls on Hoosiers to elect Dr. Woody Myers as Indiana governor". The Times of Northwest Indiana.
  42. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "ENDORSERS". Archived from the original on October 8, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  43. ^ "Republican Jennifer McCormick is endorsing Democrats in Indiana election". IndyStar.
  44. ^ "Indiana NORML". www.facebook.com.
  45. ^ Hakim-Shabazz, Abdul. "Lucas endorses Rainwater for governor". IndyPolitics. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  46. ^ "Indiana Conservatives Bail on Holcomb's GOP". September 20, 2020.
  47. ^ Cygnal
  48. ^ Ragnar Research (R)
  49. ^ SurveyUSA
  50. ^ BK Strategies (R)
  51. ^ Change Research
  52. ^ BK Strategies (R)
  53. ^ Change Research
  54. ^ a b "Indiana Election Results". Indiana Election Division. November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  55. ^ "Indiana Election Results". enr.indianavoters.in.gov. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  56. ^ https://www.in.gov/sos/elections/voter-information/files/Election_Turnout_and_Registration_20201202_052923PM.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  57. ^ "Our Campaigns - IN Governor Race - Nov 03, 2020". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
[edit]

Official campaign websites

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