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Indiana state executive official elections, 2016

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Indiana Executive Official Elections
Top Ballot
Governor • Lt. Governor
Attorney General
Down Ballot
Superintendent of Schools

The Hoosier State
Key election dates
Filing deadline (major parties):
February 5, 2016
Primary date:
May 3, 2016
Nominating conventions:
June 11, 2016Republican Party
June 18, 2016Democratic Party
Filing deadline (third parties and independents):
June 30, 2016
Filing deadline (write-ins):
July 5, 2016
Petition deadline (third parties and independents):
July 15, 2016
General election date:
November 8, 2016
Recount request deadline:
November 22, 2016
Inauguration:
January 11, 2017

Four state executive offices in Indiana were up for election in 2016:

Context of the 2016 elections

Primary elections

During a primary election, voters select the candidate they believe should represent a political party in a general election. Primaries usually take place several months before a general election. Indiana utilizes an open primary system. Voters are not required to register with a party, but state statutes stipulate that citizens vote in the primary of the party they have voted for most often in the past. According to FairVote, however, "there is really no way to enforce this," and primaries are effectively open.[1][2]

Indiana's primary election took place on May 3, 2016. However, the two major parties conducted state conventions to nominate candidates for lieutenant governor, attorney general, and superintendent of public instruction—candidates for these offices were not publicly nominated in the primary contests. Once the two parties decided on their nominees, nominations for these offices had to be filed by the parties before July 15, 2016. Any third party or write-in candidates interested in running for these offices also had to file before the July 15 deadline.

Party control in Indiana

Indiana has a Republican state government trifecta, meaning Republicans hold the governorship and a majority in the state Senate and the state House. The last Democratic candidate to win a gubernatorial election in Indiana was Frank O'Bannon, who served as governor from 1997 until his death in 2003.[3]

Democrats did manage to win two statewide elections in 2012, when Congressman Joe Donnelly (D) defeated Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock (R) in the race for the United States Senate, and Glenda Ritz (D) defeated Republican Tony Bennett in the race for Superintendent of Public Instruction.[4]

2016 elections

Races we watched

Governor

Indiana had one of the most-watched gubernatorial races in 2016. Incumbent Republican Governor Mike Pence initially sought re-election but withdrew from the race in July 2016. Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) was selected to replace Pence on the ballot and won the general election alongside running-mate State Auditor Suzanne Crouch (R).

HIGHLIGHTS
  • On July 15, 2016, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (R) announced that he had chosen Pence as his running mate. Pence withdrew from the gubernatorial race the same day.
  • The Republican state committee selected Lt Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) to replace Pence on the ballot, with State Auditor Suzanne Crouch (R) as his running mate.
  • Former state House Speaker John Gregg (D) and state Rep. Christina Hale (D) ran on the Democratic ticket.
  • At stake in November was a five-year Republican trifecta; however, since Republicans maintained the governorship, the trifecta was not broken.

    • Elections by office

    Governor and lieutenant governor

    Attorney general

    Superintendent of Schools

    Voter registration

    For full information about voting in Indiana, contact the state election agency.

    Registration

    Indiana utilizes a mixed primary system. Voters are not required to register with a political party.[13]

    To vote in Indiana, an individual must be a citizen of the United States who will be least 18 years of age at the time of the next general, municipal or special election. The voter must have resided in his or her precinct for the 30-day period preceding the next general, municipal or special election.[14]

    Online registration

    See also: Online voter registration

    Indiana has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.


    Past elections

    2015

    There were no state executive elections in Indiana in 2015.

    2014

    There were three state executive offices up for election including secretary of state, treasurer and state auditor.

    2013

    There were no elections in Indiana in 2013.

    2012

    There were four state executive offices up for election including governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and state superintendent of schools.

    State profile

    Demographic data for Indiana
     IndianaU.S.
    Total population:6,612,768316,515,021
    Land area (sq mi):35,8263,531,905
    Race and ethnicity**
    White:84.2%73.6%
    Black/African American:9.2%12.6%
    Asian:1.9%5.1%
    Native American:0.2%0.8%
    Pacific Islander:0%0.2%
    Two or more:2.2%3%
    Hispanic/Latino:6.4%17.1%
    Education
    High school graduation rate:87.8%86.7%
    College graduation rate:24.1%29.8%
    Income
    Median household income:$49,255$53,889
    Persons below poverty level:18.4%11.3%
    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
    Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Indiana.
    **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

    Presidential voting pattern

    See also: Presidential voting trends in Indiana

    Indiana voted Republican in six out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

    Pivot Counties (2016)

    Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in Indiana, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.[15]

    Pivot Counties (2020)

    In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Indiana had five Retained Pivot Counties, 2.76 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

    More Indiana coverage on Ballotpedia

    See also

    Indiana State Executive Elections News and Analysis
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    Indiana State Executive Offices
    Indiana State Legislature
    Indiana Courts
    2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016
    Indiana elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016
    Party control of state government
    State government trifectas
    State of the state addresses
    Partisan composition of governors

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Indiana Code, "Section 3-10-1-6," accessed January 3, 2014
    2. ↑ FairVote, "Primaries," accessed February 10, 2016
    3. ↑ Indiana Department of Administration, "Frank L. O'Bannon," accessed August 14, 2015
    4. ↑ The Indy Star, "Indiana Democrats pick slate, look ahead to governor's race in 2016," accessed August 14, 2015
    5. ↑ The Indy Channel, "Longtime Bayh aide Tom Sugar exploring run for governor," accessed August 28, 2015
    6. ↑ IndyStar, "Democrat Tom Sugar will not run for Indiana governor," September 21, 2015
    7. ↑ The Indy Star, "State Sen. Karen Tallian drops out of governor’s race," accessed August 28, 2015
    8. ↑ The Indy Channel, "ITW: Gregg-Ritz duo sets sights on Gov. Mike Pence," accessed August 28, 2015
    9. ↑ The Indy Star, "Bill Oesterle's midlife crusade," accessed August 28, 2015
    10. ↑ Indianapolis Business Journal, "Oesterle starts PAC to counter social conservatives," December 7, 2015
    11. ↑ This information was provided to Ballotpedia by the Elections Division in the Indiana secretary of state's office.
    12. ↑ Auburnpub.com, "Indiana GOP governor candidate picks auditor as running mate," July 29, 2016
    13. ↑ Indiana Code, "Section 3-10-1-6," accessed January 3, 2014
    14. ↑ Indiana Statewide Voter Registration System, "Online Voter Registration," accessed June 10, 2014
    15. ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.


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