Holcomb’s Path To Re-election Likely An Easy One

Gov. Eric Holcomb officially launched his re-election bid Saturday and political analysts say Holcomb’s path to a second term is likely an easy one.

No elected Indiana governor has lost a re-election bid since the state began allowing second terms in the 1970s. And Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics director Andrew Downs says it’s unlikely Eric Holcomb will break that trend.

“His polling numbers are pretty good … he also starts out with a strong financial advantage over the Democrats,” Downs says.

Downs describes Holcomb as a relatively quiet governor and says he could be more aggressive and intentional in garnering media attention during his re-election campaign.

“But he also could simply go around and meet people and remind them that he’s a decent guy, they like him personally, he is a personable individual,” Downs says. “And that may be good enough.”

So far, the only Democrat running for governor is former State Health Commissioner Woody Myers.