Indiana has a new candidate for the lieutenant governor’s race.  Today, new Republican gubernatorial candidate Eric Holcomb released a statement saying state auditor Suzanne Crouch will be his running mate.  Crouch has been state auditor since 2014 and spent almost a decade as a state representative for Vanderburgh and Warren counties.  Andy Downs with the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics says choosing Crouch is a strategic move.

Downs says the current lieutenant governor, who has only served for four months in public office, also needed someone with less name recognition than he has, or risk being overshadowed.

The announcement was unexpected today, as a state GOP committee is scheduled to meet Monday to fill the rest of the gubernatorial ticket.  The committee will still meet Monday to officially nominate Crouch.

Photo provided by the State of Indiana.