Eric J. Holcomb is the 51st Governor of Indiana.
A lifelong Hoosier, Gov. Holcomb is a veteran of the United States Navy, served as the state’s 51st Lt. Governor, was a trusted advisor to both Gov. Mitch Daniels and Sen. Dan Coats, worked for Congressman John Hostettler and is a former state chairman of the Indiana Republican Party.
He was elected governor in November 2016, following an unprecedented 106-day campaign and was sworn in on Jan. 9, 2017.
In 2018, Gov. Holcomb partnered with the Markle Foundation to launch “Skillful Indiana,” to bridge the divide between the skills Hoosiers have and the skills businesses need. Indiana is just the second state to have this program.
Under his leadership, Indiana has had two consecutive record-breaking years for job commitments. In 2018, 320 companies committed to create at least 31,000 jobs in Indiana.
Next Level Connections, a $1 billion program focused on accelerating major road projects, is focused on increasing access to high-speed, affordable internet to unserved Hoosiers, establishing more nonstop flights to and from Indiana, and committing the largest infusion of trails funding in state history.
He has a mission to increase Indiana’s competitiveness in the global economy by “bringing the world to Indiana and taking Indiana to the world.” He announced Indiana’s first-ever nonstop transatlantic flight from Indianapolis to Paris, beginning in May 2018. So far, the governor has met with officials and industry leaders in the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Canada, Israel, India, France, Belgium, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic to showcase Indiana’s assets and build global economic ties. In 2018, Holcomb was honored as the International Center’s International Citizen of the Year.
In his first legislative session as governor, he rallied bipartisan support from Indiana lawmakers to expand pre-kindergarten for qualifying Hoosier kids and unveiled Next Level Recovery—a one-stop-shop for information and resources on the state’s comprehensive and community-based effort to fight the opioid crisis. The governor was honored with the Richard M. Fairbanks Circle of Hope Award in 2019.
Gov. Holcomb is focused on moving our state forward. In his first months as governor, he led the way for the largest long-term infrastructure investment in our state’s history with the long-term, fully-funded 20-year, $60 billion Next Level Roads program.
The governor has called workforce readiness the defining issue of the decade. To meet our state’s rapidly changing workforce needs, he unveiled the Next Level Jobs program to help connect more Hoosiers to high-demand, high-wage careers. Holcomb was awarded the 2019 Mira Trailblazer Award by TechPoint for his work with the growing tech industry in Indiana. He is the former chair of Jobs for America’s Graduates and now serves on the board of directors.
He is passionate about helping incarcerated Hoosiers break cycles by learning essential job skills. The Last Mile, a program dedicated to reducing recidivism by teaching computer coding inside prisons, chose Indiana to be the first state outside of California to participate by opening a program at the Indiana Women’s Prison in 2017. It has expanded to include the Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility. The governor has introduced high-wage, high demand certificate training to prepare offenders to be successful in their communities upon release.
All of this work is underscored by Gov. Holcomb’s commitment to delivering great government service for Hoosier taxpayers. Indiana was ranked first in the nation for government efficiency by U.S. News & World Report in 2017.
Holcomb currently serves as the policy chairman of the Republican Governors Association and in 2018 was named one of ten governors shaping the future of politics by The Hill.
In an article in Governing Magazine, they said, “Indiana’s governor doesn’t scream, doesn’t threaten, and doesn’t even complain. He just wins.”
Throughout his career in service, he has earned a reputation of being a consensus builder. He travels weekly throughout the state—visiting with Hoosiers wherever he goes about how to make Indiana an even better place to live, work and play. He has earned honorary doctorate degrees from Trine University, Anderson University and Ivy Tech. A lifelong basketball fan, Gov. Holcomb has shot and made a basket in each of Indiana’s 92 counties.
The governor is a graduate of Pike High School in Indianapolis and Hanover College in southeastern Indiana where he majored in U.S. History with a focus on the American Civil War and the Reconstruction Era. He is a collector of presidential signatures and currently has documents signed by 43 of our nation’s 44 presidents, missing only the signature of George Washington.
He and his wife, Janet, live with their Miniature Schnauzer, Henry, in the Governor’s Residence on North Meridian Street in Indianapolis.
