WASHINGTON — (CNN) Indiana Republicans have chosen the state’s lieutenant governor, Eric Holcomb, to replace vice presidential nominee Mike Pence on the ballot in the state’s competitive gubernatorial race this fall.
The state GOP’s 22-member central committee met privately Tuesday and chose Holcomb over two members of Congress vying for the job — Rep. Susan Brooks and Rep. Todd Rokita.
Holcomb, who will choose his own replacement for lieutenant governor nominee, will face former Indiana House Speaker John Gregg in November in a race Democrats had targeted after Pence’s struggles with social issue-driven controversies such as the backlash over the state’s “religious freedom” law in 2015.
Holcomb’s selection was a victory for Pence was tapped by Donald Trump as his running mate earlier this month.
Pence tapped Holcomb as lieutenant governor five months ago after former Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann resigned to become president of the Ivy Tech Community College system, and Pence lobbied for Holcomb’s selection as his replacement.
But it’s also one that bridges a defining gap in the Indiana Republican Party between supporters of popular former Gov. Mitch Daniels and backers of Pence — two camps that never hid their disdain for each other.
Despite his current office, Holcomb is still best known as Daniels’ chief political aide. He managed Daniels’ his re-election campaign in 2008 and then became his appointee as Indiana GOP chairman.
Once Daniels left office, Holcomb became a top aide to Sen. Dan Coats. And when Coats announced he wouldn’t run for re-election this year, Holcomb launched a short-lived Senate campaign — one hobbled by anemic fundraising — before dropping out and accepting Pence’s offer to become lieutenant governor.
Once Donald Trump named Pence as his vice presidential nominee, Pence’s allies lobbied state Republican insiders to replace him on the ballot with Holcomb.
“Today, we stand united and give our full support to Eric as we race towards victory in November,” Indiana Republican Party chairman Jeff Cardwell said in a statement announcing Holcomb’s selection.
Holcomb told local reporters he’s “got work to do and a short time to get there.”
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