30 Facts About Eric Holcomb

Eric Joseph Holcomb is an American politician who served as the 51st governor of Indiana, from 2017 to 2025.

Eric Holcomb won the 2016 election for governor of Indiana over Democratic nominee John R Gregg, and was reelected in 2020 over Democratic nominee Woody Myers and Libertarian nominee Donald Rainwater.

Eric Holcomb graduated from Pike High School in Indianapolis, and in 1990 from Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana.

Eric Holcomb served in the United States Navy for six years, first at Naval Station Great Lakes and later in Florida and Portugal.

Eric Holcomb received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters Degree from Trine University on October 5,2018, an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Anderson University on May 11,2019, and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters Degree from Rose-Hulman on May 30,2020.

Eric Holcomb began working for John Hostettler, a member of the United States House of Representatives, in 1997.

In 2000, Eric Holcomb ran for the Indiana House of Representatives against John Frenz, but was defeated.

From 2003 to 2011, Eric Holcomb served as an advisor to Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, eventually rising to the role of Deputy Chief of Staff, and served as campaign manager for Daniels's 2008 gubernatorial campaign.

Eric Holcomb became Chairman of the Indiana Republican Party in 2011.

In March 2015 Coats announced that he would not run for reelection to the Senate in the 2016 election, and Eric Holcomb announced his intention to run.

Eric Holcomb was sworn in as lieutenant governor on March 3,2016.

Pence then withdrew from Indiana's gubernatorial election and Eric Holcomb withdrew as the nominee for lieutenant governor.

Eric Holcomb decided to pursue the nomination for governor and was selected on the second ballot by the Indiana State Republican Central Committee, defeating Rep.

Eric Holcomb chose Indiana State Auditor Suzanne Crouch as his running mate.

Eric Holcomb ran slightly behind the Trump-Pence ticket, which carried Indiana with 56 percent of the vote.

Eric Holcomb received the most votes for governor in Indiana history.

Eric Holcomb has said that civility is the foundation on which the other pillars are based.

Eric Holcomb's first act as governor was creating the office of drug prevention, treatment and enforcement and tasking that office with tackling the opioid crisis and other addiction issues in Indiana.

Additionally, early in his first term, Eric Holcomb pardoned Keith Cooper, who served eight years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of an armed robbery; declared a disaster emergency at the East Chicago Superfund Site; and ended contract discussions between the Indiana Finance Authority and Agile Networks to manage Indiana's communications infrastructure, including cell towers.

In November 2019, the Center for Investigative Reporting reported that Eric Holcomb had personally pressured an Indiana OSHA investigator to drop a worker fatality case against Amazon so that Indianapolis could have a better chance at being the home of Amazon's HQ2.

Eric Holcomb's office denied the allegations, saying that he had not attended the meeting with the OSHA commissioner and investigator.

Eric Holcomb said the accusations against him would pose a threat to Indiana's "positive business climate" and demanded they be retracted.

Regardless of whether Eric Holcomb was directly involved, OSHA eventually dropped the citations against Amazon's fulfillment center and the case was reclassified as one of "employee misconduct" rather than a shortfall in training and safety procedures.

In July 2020, Attorney General Curtis Hill accused Eric Holcomb of overstepping his authority by issuing a statewide face mask mandate with criminal penalties.

Eric Holcomb vetoed the laws passed in the special session, and the legislature overrode his vetoes.

Eric Holcomb was inaugurated to a second term on January 11,2021.

Eric Holcomb cited the bill's low probability of surviving judicial scrutiny and the lack of pressing concern as his reasons for vetoing it.

In September 2024, Eric Holcomb visited Ukraine to sign an academic, agricultural, and cultural partnership with the country.

Eric Holcomb is the first US governor to visit Ukraine since the Russian invasion.

Eric Holcomb has an "F" rating from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws for his voting history regarding cannabis-related causes.