Eric Holcomb is the incumbent Governor of Indiana who took the office on January 9, 2017 as the successor of current vice president Mile Pence. Previously, he was Lieutenant Governor of Indiana (2016 – 2017).
Early Life and Education
Eric Joseph Holcomb was born on May 2, 1968 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Brought up in the same city, he went to Pike High School for early education and joined Hanover College for undergraduate education.
Personal Life
Eric Holcomb turned 48 in May 2016. He is married to wife Janet Holcomb. She is a fine arts graduate from Ball State University. The Holcomb couple lived on North Meridian Street, Indianapolis and own a pet dog named Henry.
Career
Eric’s preparation for his future career started since the college years. At Hanover, he was heavily involved in Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta as a member and Chapter as President. Leaving the college in 1990, Holcomb entered into the intelligence department of US Navy. As an intelligence officer, he was placed in Florida for domestic service and Portugal for international service. Working for federal intelligence for six years, Eric decided to move out and venture into the world of American politics.
Soon after returning to a normal person life – not a Navy anymore – Holcomb joined US House Representative John Hostettler’s agendas. The years ahead with Hostettler were learning experiences for Holcomb which would later lead him to run for a seat in the Indiana House of Representatives. Unfortunately, Eric’s political career saw a setback at this point as he lost against John Frenz.
Despite suffering a setback in 2000 election, Eric stood up again to finally make it to the position of an advisor for incumbent Governor of Indiana, Mitch Daniels. In 2010, he started leading the Indiana Republican Party. Three years later, he was appointed as the Chief of Staff for Senator Dan Coats. Coats held the office until 2015, hence Holcomb had to catch another train to move forwards. Fortunately, Mike Pence offered him the position of Lieutenant Governor of Indiana in February 2016.
Being chosen to be the running mate for Mike Pence proved to be very much fruitful for Eric Holcomb. As the 2016 Presidential elections were approaching, Mike Pence dropped off of gubernatorial race and joined Republican nominee Mike Pence as his running mate. Luckily, it was a chance for Eric to submit his candidacy for Governor of Indiana. He managed to receive the Republican nomination and to win the Indiana general election against Democrat nominee John R. Greg with 51.4% votes. On January 9, 2017, Eric Holcomb assumed the office as Governor of Indiana, succeeding the current VPOTUS Mike Pence.
As Governor, Holcomb has created five areas of primary focus: attracting jobs, infrastructural development, upskill workforce, end drug epidemic and provide efficient governance. It’s yet to seen how well Eric addresses his agendas.
Donald Trump and Eric Holcomb
President Trump and Governor Holcomb are both Republicans, hence they are ideologically similar on political issues. Governor Holcomb publicly congratulated Trump after his landslide victory in Indiana against Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Governor Holcomb has been a bit equivocal on Trump’s executive order to ban people coming in from seven Muslim countries. He said, “There is no larger duty in America than to protect our citizens and borders. We will monitor the future implementation of this executive order and its potential impact on Hoosiers. We can all agree there should be no adverse effects on the welcoming environment for the law-abiding international community that is such an important part of our great state.”
