Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb listens as town and construction officials brief him on the Calumet Avenue and 45th Street realignment project Aug. 30, 2019, in Munster.
Governor Who?
Nearly three full years into his first term as Indiana's chief executive, more than a quarter of Hoosier voters have no opinion or no knowledge of Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb.
Morning Consult's survey of 13,285 registered Indiana voters, taken between July 1 and Sept. 30, found Holcomb is the second-most anonymous governor in the nation, behind only Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, who just took office July 1, 2018.
According to Morning Consult, 26% of Hoosier voters said "no opinion" or "don't know" when asked to rate Holcomb's gubernatorial job performance. Parson's "don't know" result was 27%. The surveys have a margin of error of plus-or-minus 1%.
Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody pounced on the survey finding, suggesting Holcomb's September foreign trade missions to Japan, South Korea, China and India might have been time better spent traveling around the Hoosier State.
"Governors act to meet the challenges facing middle-class Hoosiers. Holcomb's most notable achievement is setting the record for most international junkets," Zody said.
"With legislative supermajorities and in a state the president won by 19 points, Eric Holcomb appears content to just keep the seat warm."
While Holcomb's high unknowns are potentially dangerous heading into a 2020 re-election campaign, Morning Consult also found those who do know Holcomb mostly like him.
Overall, 51% of Indiana registered voters said they approve of Holcomb's job performance, compared to just 23% who said they disapprove.
That put Holcomb right in the middle of the pack in the Morning Consult's survey on the nation's 50 governors, whose approval ratings ranged from 73% for Massachusetts Republican Gov. Charlie Baker to 34% for Kentucky Republican Gov. Matt Bevin.
In Illinois, 43% of registered voters said they approve of Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker's job performance, 42% disapprove and 14% either had no opinion or didn't know Pritzker.
Holcomb campaign manager Kyle Hupfer, who also is chairman of the Indiana Republican Party, said the campaign's own polling regularly shows more than 60% of Hoosiers approve of Holcomb's job performance, with his disapproval in the high teens or low 20s.
"Gov. Holcomb is in an extremely strong position because of his efforts all across this state and his personal connection with Hoosiers," Hupfer said.
"John Zody would be thrilled to have any Democrat in this state come close to a +28% approval statewide, or an approval over 50%."
Three Democrats so far are vying for the opportunity to challenge Holcomb in next year's general election.
They're almost certainly less well-known to Hoosier voters than Holcomb.
Just one, state Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Gary, ever has been elected to public office. Dr. Woody Myers was state health commissioner in the 1980s, and Josh Owens is CEO of Indianapolis-based online retailer SupplyKick.
Regardless of his approval rating, Holcomb likely can take solace in the fact that since the Indiana Constitution was amended in 1972 to permit consecutive gubernatorial terms, every single person elected governor who sought to remain in office has won re-election — often by greater margins.
