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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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%.

This election marked the worst performance by a Democratic candidate for governor in Indiana history.

Republican primary Candidates Nominee Eric Holcomb, incumbent governor of Indiana Running mate: Suzanne Crouch, incumbent lieutenant governor

Removed from ballot Brian Roth, businessman

Declined Curtis Hill, Attorney General of Indiana (running for re-election)

Results

Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Woody Myers, business executive and former Indiana Health Commissioner and New York City Health Commissioner Running mate: Linda Lawson, former Minority Leader of the Indiana House of Representatives

Withdrew Eddie Melton, state senator from the 3rd district Josh Owens, businessman, former chairman of the Indiana Charter School Board, and former Luke Messer congressional staffer (endorsed Myers)

Declined Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend and former 2020 presidential candidate Joe Donnelly, former U.S. senator Greg Goodnight, former mayor of Kokomo John R. Gregg, former speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives, former state representative from the 45th district, and Democratic nominee for governor in 2012 and 2016 Christina Hale, state representative from the 87th district and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2016 (running for Indiana's 5th Congressional district) Baron Hill, former U.S. representative from Indiana's 9th congressional district (endorsed Myers) Joe Hogsett, mayor of Indianapolis Karlee Macer, state representative from the 92nd district Thomas McDermott Jr., mayor of Hammond (running for Indiana's 1st congressional district) Jonathan Weinzapfel, former mayor of Evansville (running for Attorney General)

Results

Libertarian convention Candidates Nominee Donald Rainwater, U.S. Navy veteran; Libertarian candidate for Indiana State Senate in 2016 and for Indiana House of Representatives in 2018 Running mate: William Henry

Eliminated at convention Bill Levin, Grand Poobah of the First Church of Cannabis of Indianapolis

General election Predictions SourceRankingAs ofThe Cook Political ReportOctober 23, 2020Inside ElectionsOctober 28, 2020Sabato's Crystal BallNovember 2, 2020PoliticoNovember 2, 2020Daily KosOctober 28, 2020RCPNovember 2, 2020270towinNovember 2, 2020

Endorsements

Polling

Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error EricHolcomb (R) WoodyMyers (D) DonaldRainwater (L) Other /UndecidedCygnalCygnalOctober 21–23, 2020600 (LV)± 4%47%29%15%10%Ragnar Research (R)Ragnar Research (R)October 18–21, 2020529 (LV)± 4%52%26%14%8%SurveyUSASurveyUSA October 10–13, 2020 527 (LV) ± 5.2%55% 25% 10% 11%BK Strategies (R)BK Strategies (R) October 4–5, 2020 600 (LV) ± 4%60%21%8%11%Change ResearchChange Research September 3–7, 2020 1,033 (LV) ± 3.1%36% 30% 24% 10%Victoria Research (D)Victoria Research (D) May 21–23, 2020 894 (LV) ± 3.3%53% 24% – 23%-->BK Strategies (R)BK Strategies (R) May 20–21, 2020 600 (LV) ± 4%64%21% –15%Change ResearchChange ResearchApril 10–13, 20201,021 (LV)± 3.1%45%25%8%22%

Results 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.

By county County Holcomb/CrouchRepublican Myers/LawsonDemocratic Rainwater/HenryLibertarian Margin Total % # % # % # % # Adams 9,441 66.7% 2,143 15.1% 2,570 18.2% 6,871 48.5% 14,154 Allen 98,406 58.5% 53,895 32.0% 16,011 9.5% 44,511 26.5% 168,312 Bartholomew 21,959 60.9% 9,013 25.0% 5,065 14.1% 12,946 35.9% 36,037 Benton 2,815 68.7% 671 16.4% 614 15.0% 2,144 52.3% 4,100 Blackford 3,333 63.1% 933 17.7% 1,017 19.3% 2,316 43.8% 5,283 Boone 23,737 61.7% 9,661 25.1% 5,094 13.2% 14,076 36.6% 38,492 Brown 4,953 55.3% 2,381 26.6% 1,623 18.1% 2,572 28.7% 8,957 Carroll 6,077 63.9% 1,569 16.5% 1,864 19.6% 4,213 44.3% 9,510 Cass 8,833 58.3% 3,373 22.3% 2,940 19.4% 5,460 36.0% 15,146 Clark 34,669 60.4% 19,077 33.2% 3,680 6.4% 15,592 27.2% 57,426 Clay 8,164 67.0% 1,780 14.6% 2,242 18.4% 5,922 48.6% 12,186 Clinton 7,971 61.8% 2,406 18.7% 2,514 19.5% 5,457 42.3% 12,891 Crawford 3,064 63.1% 1,242 25.6% 553 11.4% 1,822 37.5% 4,859 Daviess 8,313 70.1% 1,531 12.9% 2,016 17.0% 6,297 53.1% 11,860 Dearborn 18,353 72.6% 4,559 18.0% 2,383 9.4% 13,794 54.6% 25,295 Decatur 7,911 64.5% 1,562 12.7% 2,787 22.7% 5,124 41.8% 12,260 Dekalb 13,042 66.9% 3,293 16.9% 3,158 16.2% 9,749 50.0% 19,493 Delaware 26,829 56.0% 15,638 32.6% 5,482 11.4% 11,191 23.4% 47,949 Dubois 14,403 66.7% 4,586 21.2% 2,599 12.0% 9,817 45.5% 21,588 Elkhart 46,223 62.1% 20,512 27.6% 7,690 10.3% 25,711 34.5% 74,425 Fayette 6,933 69.0% 1,707 17.0% 1,414 14.1% 5,226 52.0% 10,054 Floyd 24,972 60.0% 14,948 35.9% 1,669 4.0% 10,024 24.1% 41,589 Fountain 5,189 65.3% 1,150 14.5% 1,613 20.3% 3,576 45.2% 7,952 Franklin 8,633 73.0% 1,690 14.3% 1,499 12.7% 6,943 58.7% 11,822 Fulton 5,436 59.6% 1,603 17.6% 2,084 22.8% 8,617 36.8% 9,123 Gibson 11,607 72.0% 2,990 18.5% 1,533 9.5% 8,617 53.5% 16,130 Grant 16,847 62.3% 5,849 21.6% 4,325 16.0% 10,998 40.7% 27,021 Greene 9,579 65.2% 2,511 17.1% 2,604 17.7% 6,975 47.5% 14,694 Hamilton 117,749 60.8% 58,714 30.3% 17,121 8.8% 59,035 30.5% 193,584 Hancock 25,647 59.9% 8,538 19.9% 8,624 20.1% 17,023 39.8% 42,809 Harrison 14,083 69.7% 4,514 22.3% 1,602 7.9% 9,569 45.4% 20,199 Hendricks 50,697 57.5% 23,179 26.3% 14,246 16.2% 27,518 21.2% 88,122 Henry 12,491 59.3% 4,128 19.6% 4,442 21.1% 8,049 39.7% 21,061 Howard 24,359 60.1% 9,871 24.3% 6,317 15.6% 14,488 35.8% 40,547 Huntington 11,759 66.3% 2,804 15.8% 3,168 17.9% 8,591 48.4% 17,731 Jackson 11,714 61.2% 3,234 16.9% 4,188 21.9% 7,526 49.3% 19,136 Jasper 10,378 67.5% 2,904 18.9% 2,089 13.6% 7,474 48.6% 15,371 Jay 5,227 62.2% 1,240 14.8% 1,938 23.1% 3,289 39.1% 8,405 Jefferson 9,076 62.4% 3,711 25.5% 1,750 12.0% 5,365 36.9% 14,537 Jennings 7,547 62.1% 1,930 15.9% 2,676 22.0% 4,871 40.1% 12,153 Johnson 47,467 61.4% 17,630 22.8% 12,177 15.8% 29,837 38.6% 77,274 Knox 11,210 70.8% 2,809 17.7% 1,821 11.5% 8,401 53.1% 15,840 Kosciusko 23,029 64.6% 5,784 16.2% 6,845 19.2% 16,184 48.4% 35,658 Lagrange 7,520 71.1% 1,690 16.0% 1,365 12.9% 5,830 55.1% 10,575 Lake 94,841 43.7% 112,352 51.7% 10,039 4.6% -17,511 -8.0% 217,232 LaPorte 26,129 53.7% 18,133 37.3% 4,356 9.0% 7,996 16.4% 48,618 Lawrence 13,371 64.1% 3,616 17.3% 3,881 18.6% 9,490 45.5% 20,868 Madison 29,434 56.8% 14,254 27.5% 8,118 15.7% 15,180 29.3% 51,806 Marion 152,405 39.0% 203,475 52.1% 34,974 8.9% -51,070 -13.1% 390,854 Marshall 13,145 66.4% 4,025 20.3% 2,634 13.3% 9,120 46.1% 19,804 Martin 3,232 63.1% 709 13.9% 1,177 23.0% 2,055 40.1% 5,118 Miami 9,208 64.1% 2,439 17.0% 2,714 18.9% 6,494 45.2% 14,361 Monroe 24,605 39.4% 33,033 52.8% 4,885 7.8% -8,428 -13.4% 62,523 Montgomery 10,587 61.6% 2,812 16.4% 3,785 22.0% 6,802 39.6% 17,184 Morgan 22,161 61.6% 5,602 15.6% 8,184 22.8% 13,977 38.8% 35,947 Newton 4,358 66.5% 1,148 17.5% 1,050 16.0% 3,210 49.0% 6,556 Noble 12,498 65.5% 3,237 17.0% 3,353 17.6% 9,145 47.9% 19,088 Ohio 2,210 69.4% 641 20.1% 335 10.5% 1,569 49.3% 3,186 Orange 5,591 63.8% 1,952 22.3% 1,216 13.9% 3,639 41.5% 8,759 Owen 5,857 59.5% 1,852 18.8% 2,137 21.7% 3,720 37.8% 9,846 Parke 4,766 68.4% 1,127 16.2% 1,079 15.5% 3,639 52.2% 6,972 Perry 5,523 63.9% 2,518 29.1% 607 7.0% 3,005 34.8% 8,648 Pike 4,199 68.4% 1,092 17.8% 850 13.8% 3,107 50.6% 6,141 Porter 45,996 53.2% 33,397 38.6% 7,131 8.2% 12,599 14.6% 86,524 Posey 9,648 72.9% 2,773 21.0% 809 6.1% 6,875 51.9% 13,230 Pulaski 3,874 67.2% 1,019 17.7% 875 15.2% 2,855 49.5% 5,768 Putnam 9,375 56.7% 2,876 17.4% 4,269 25.8% 5,106 30.9% 16,520 Randolph 7,399 67.3% 1,863 16.9% 1,732 15.8% 5,536 50.4% 10,994 Ripley 9,518 67.0% 2,231 15.7% 2,458 17.3% 7,060 49.7% 14,207 Rush 4,949 62.8% 1,215 15.4% 1,716 21.8% 3,233 41.0% 7,880 Scott 6,065 60.8% 2,297 23.0% 1,613 16.2% 3,767 37.8% 9,975 Shelby 12,269 61.8% 3,499 17.6% 4,099 20.6% 8,170 41.2% 19,867 Spencer 7,272 68.2% 2,461 23.1% 926 8.7% 4,811 45.1% 10,659 St. Joseph 60,696 52.9% 48,610 42.4% 5,387 4.7% 12,086 10.5% 114,693 Starke 6,730 66.1% 2,026 19.9% 1,427 14.0% 4,704 46.2% 10,183 Steuben 11,407 70.9% 2,939 18.3% 1,739 10.8% 8,468 52.6% 16,085 Sullivan 6,009 67.4% 1,550 17.4% 1,357 15.2% 4,459 50.0% 8,916 Switzerland 2,846 69.8% 822 20.1% 412 10.1% 2,024 49.7% 4,080 Tippecanoe 37,979 53.3% 26,179 36.8% 7,057 9.9% 11,800 16.5% 71,215 Tipton 5,169 64.0% 1,200 14.9% 1,707 21.1% 3,462 42.9% 8,076 Union 2,533 73.2% 603 17.4% 323 9.3% 1,930 55.8% 3,459 Vanderburgh 46,490 60.1% 27,242 35.2% 3,658 4.7% 19,248 24.9% 77,390 Vermillion 4,938 66.9% 1,531 20.7% 917 12.4% 3,407 46.2% 7,386 Vigo 25,917 59.8% 13,999 32.3% 3,419 7.9% 11,918 27.5% 43,335 Wabash 9,111 62.8% 2,421 16.7% 2,979 20.5% 6,132 42.3% 14,511 Warren 3,009 67.5% 672 15.1% 777 17.4% 2,232 50.1% 4,458 Warrick 22,703 67.7% 9,074 27.1% 1,747 5.2% 13,269 40.6% 33,524 Washington 7,919 65.6% 2,408 19.9% 1,746 14.5% 5,511 45.7% 12,073 Wayne 16,914 61.2% 7,534 27.3% 3,172 11.5% 9,380 33.9% 27,620 Wells 9,371 66.7% 1,967 14.0% 2,712 19.3% 6,659 47.4% 14,050 White 7,334 65.8% 1,978 17.8% 1,826 16.4% 5,356 48.0% 11,138 Whitley 11,522 66.0% 2,738 15.7% 3,191 18.3% 8,331 47.7% 17,451 Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Delaware (largest municipality: Muncie) Knox (largest municipality: Vincennes) LaPorte (largest municipality: Michigan City) Perry (largest municipality: Tell City) Porter (largest municipality: Portage) St. Joseph (largest municipality: South Bend) Sullivan (largest municipality: Sullivan) Tippecanoe (largest municipality: Lafayette) Vermillion (largest municipality: Clinton) Vigo (largest municipality: Terre Haute)

By congressional district Holcomb won seven of nine congressional districts.

District Holcomb Myers Rainwater Representative 47% 48% 6%Frank J. Mrvan 59% 31% 10%Jackie Walorski 62% 24% 13%Jim Banks 59% 25% 16%Jim Baird 56% 34% 10%Victoria Spartz 63% 22% 15%Greg Pence 37% 53% 10%André Carson 65% 25% 10%Larry Bucshon 58% 30% 12%Trey Hollingsworth

Notes

Partisan clients

References