Suzanne Crouch
Suzanne Crouch (born February 27, 1952) is an American Republican politician who served as the 52nd Lieutenant Governor of Indiana from 2017 to 2025.[1][2] She previously held the office of Indiana State Auditor from 2014 to 2017, after appointment by Governor Mike Pence to fill a vacancy, and represented District 78 in the Indiana House of Representatives from 2005 to 2013, where she served on committees including Ways and Means and Public Health.[3][4] Earlier in her career, Crouch began in local government as Vanderburgh County Auditor in 1994 and later as County Commissioner.[5][3] A Purdue University graduate with a bachelor's degree in political science, she ran unsuccessfully in the 2024 Republican primary for Governor of Indiana, finishing behind U.S. Senator Mike Braun.[3][6] In her role as Lieutenant Governor, Crouch presided over the Indiana Senate and oversaw key state agencies including the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, and the Office of Community and Rural Affairs.[2] Following her tenure, she assumed the position of system executive director at the Deaconess Foundation in March 2025.[7]
Early life and personal background
Family origins and upbringing
Suzanne Crouch was born on February 27, 1952, in Evansville, Indiana, the seat of Vanderburgh County.[8] She is the second of five children born to Mary Crouch and Lawrence "Edgar" Crouch Jr.[9] Crouch grew up in a hard-working family in southern Indiana that emphasized values such as helping others, integrity, and kindness.[10] Her early environment in Evansville, a Midwestern manufacturing hub, exposed her to community-oriented traditions common in the region's Republican-leaning culture, which often prioritized limited government and personal responsibility.[3] This upbringing instilled in her an appreciation for self-reliance amid local economic realities, including periodic industrial fluctuations in Vanderburgh County during the mid-20th century.[11]Personal tragedies and formative experiences
Crouch's mother endured chronic depression throughout her upbringing in Evansville, Indiana, exposing her to the emotional toll of untreated mental health conditions within the family unit.[12] [13] This environment highlighted the limitations of available support systems at the time, fostering an early recognition of the need for accessible, stigma-free interventions focused on practical treatment rather than isolation or denial.[9] Her youngest sister, Nancy, died by suicide in her early 20s, an event that profoundly underscored the inadequacies in crisis response and long-term care for those grappling with severe mental illness.[12] [14] Similarly, her older brother Larry battled alcoholism for years, ultimately succumbing to alcohol-related illness in October 2022 at age 72, after a life marked by estrangement and repeated cycles of addiction without effective recovery mechanisms.[9] [12] These familial losses, spanning mental illness and substance dependency, directly informed Crouch's emphasis on evidence-based approaches to destigmatization, prioritizing community-level empathy rooted in observable gaps in prevention and rehabilitation over abstract or overly generalized frameworks.[15] [16] Prior to entering public service, these experiences motivated Crouch's involvement in local efforts to address mental health barriers, channeling personal hardship into targeted support for affected individuals and families through a lens of causal accountability rather than victim-centered narratives.[9] This foundation emphasized the role of family dynamics in perpetuating or mitigating such struggles, shaping a commitment to initiatives that bridge empirical treatment with real-world vulnerabilities in vulnerable populations.[17]Local government career
Vanderburgh County Auditor
Suzanne Crouch was elected Vanderburgh County Auditor in 1994, securing 56% of the vote against the Democratic incumbent in a Republican-leaning county amid national GOP gains.[18] This victory followed her narrow defeat in a 1986 bid for the same office, where she lost by 677 votes out of over 57,000 cast.[18] She assumed office in January 1995 and served two four-year terms until 2002, overseeing property tax assessments, budget preparations, and financial reporting for the county's operations.[19] In this role, Crouch prioritized fiscal accountability by directing audits that identified wasteful spending in county departments and programs.[3] [19] Her office implemented corresponding cost-saving measures, such as streamlining administrative processes and reducing non-essential expenditures, which contributed to balanced budgets during periods of local economic strain from manufacturing declines in the Evansville area.[3] These efforts underscored an early commitment to taxpayer-focused governance, emphasizing transparency in public funds to prevent mismanagement and appeal to residents concerned with efficient resource allocation.[19] Crouch's tenure as auditor established her reputation for rigorous oversight, distinguishing her approach in a position responsible for certifying county finances and ensuring compliance with state regulations.[3] By exposing inefficiencies through detailed financial reviews, she advanced fiscal conservatism at the local level, setting the stage for her subsequent runs for higher office without incurring deficits or major controversies in expenditure controls.[19] This period highlighted her focus on empirical financial data over expansive spending, aligning with voter priorities in Vanderburgh County, where property taxes and service delivery remained key issues.[18]Vanderburgh County Commissioner
Suzanne Crouch was elected to the Vanderburgh County Board of Commissioners in 2002, succeeding her prior role as county auditor, and served from 2002 to 2005.[20] [21] As one of three commissioners, she contributed to the executive oversight of county operations, including public works, road maintenance, and emergency services, during a period of steady population growth in the Evansville metropolitan area.[22] The board managed budgets for infrastructure maintenance and local development projects amid economic expansion driven by manufacturing and logistics sectors.[18] Crouch served as president of the board during her tenure, facilitating decisions on capital improvements and service delivery while emphasizing fiscal responsibility.[22] Her leadership focused on practical governance solutions, such as addressing drainage and development needs in flood-prone areas along the Ohio River, through coordination with county departments rather than expansive new spending.[23] This approach aligned with Republican priorities of containing property tax increases, contrasting with more interventionist policies, and supported incremental investments in roads and utilities that sustained local job growth without significant debt accumulation.[18] The role marked Crouch's shift from financial auditing to broader executive responsibilities, where she navigated bipartisan board dynamics by prioritizing evidence-based allocations for essential services over ideological initiatives.[24] This hands-on experience in county-level administration informed her subsequent state-level focus, highlighting the tangible impacts of localized decision-making on community resilience and economic stability.[4]State legislative service
Indiana House of Representatives tenure
Suzanne Crouch was appointed to the Indiana House of Representatives in October 2005, filling a vacancy in District 78, which encompasses portions of Vanderburgh and Warrick counties in the Evansville area.[25] She held the seat until resigning effective January 1, 2014, to become State Auditor, completing nearly eight full years of service.[26] As a Republican in a reliably conservative district, Crouch secured re-election in 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012 with substantial margins, reflecting strong constituent approval of her positions on fiscal and local issues. In the 2012 general election, she ran unopposed and received 21,991 votes, accounting for 100% of the tally.[27] Throughout her tenure, Crouch maintained a voting record aligned with Republican priorities on taxation and economic policy. She supported 2008 property tax reform legislation (House Enrolled Act 1001), which implemented caps limiting residential taxes to 1% of gross assessed value and introduced circuit breakers for additional relief, measures she described as delivering immediate and permanent taxpayer savings.[28] These reforms, enacted amid widespread property tax hikes prompting referenda, contributed to subsequent reductions in Indiana's overall tax burden and improvements in state business climate rankings by indices such as the Tax Foundation's State Business Tax Climate Index, which advanced Indiana from 23rd in 2005 to 12th by 2013. Crouch also authored targeted tax relief measures, including House Bill 1046 in 2011, which granted a 50% property tax deduction on newly constructed unsold homes to support homebuilders amid economic recovery efforts.[29] On welfare policy, she opposed expansions lacking stringent work requirements, consistent with caucus positions emphasizing empirical evidence from programs like TANF reauthorizations that linked benefits to employment outcomes for poverty alleviation. Her approach prioritized fiscal restraint over broadened entitlements, though she collaborated bipartisanship on district-specific matters such as local infrastructure funding.[25]Key legislative priorities and committee roles
Crouch served as vice chair of the Indiana House Ways and Means Committee throughout her tenure from 2005 to 2014, a position that positioned her to influence state budget processes by advocating data-driven evaluations leading to reductions in inefficient programs and the passage of balanced budgets without tax increases.[26][19] This role emphasized causal fiscal realism, prioritizing expenditures based on empirical outcomes rather than entrenched spending habits, which helped constrain state growth in outlays amid economic pressures. As a member of the House Public Health Committee, she focused on initiatives to expand access to mental health and addiction treatment services, framing advocacy through cost-benefit analyses that demonstrated long-term savings from parity requirements and preventive interventions over untreated crises.[19] Her committee work contributed to policy discussions underscoring the economic rationale for addressing behavioral health gaps, where inaction imposed higher societal costs estimated in billions annually.[19] Crouch supported school choice expansions during her House service, aligning with efforts to introduce competition into Indiana's education system and challenge the monopoly-like structure of traditional public schooling, which empirical data suggested underperformed in outcomes relative to alternatives.[30] She also backed pro-life legislation, including measures restricting abortions and promoting alternatives, consistent with voter priorities in her district and broader Republican platforms emphasizing protection of unborn life based on biological and ethical first principles.[30] These positions reflected a commitment to policies with verifiable causal benefits, such as improved educational attainment and reduced reliance on public funding for social services.State Auditor of Indiana
Election and responsibilities
![Crouch smiling](./assets/170905-Z-PM441-6534_cropped_2 Suzanne Crouch was elected Indiana State Auditor in the November 4, 2014, general election, defeating Democratic nominee Michael A. Claytor by a margin of 59.62% to 36.02%, with Libertarian John Krom receiving the remaining votes.[31] Her campaign highlighted her prior experience as Vanderburgh County Auditor and Commissioner, emphasizing a commitment to fiscal accountability and serving as a watchdog over public funds.[25] As Indiana State Auditor, officially operating as the State Comptroller, Crouch held responsibility for examining and processing all claims submitted against the state prior to issuing warrants for payment, maintaining the state's central fiscal accounting records, and prescribing uniform accounting systems for state agencies.[32] The office oversaw the disbursement of more than $30 billion in annual state funds, ensuring compliance with budgetary appropriations and statutory requirements.[33] Crouch's tenure focused on enhancing internal controls to prevent fraud and waste, including promoting the use of independent internal auditors within agencies to detect irregularities before escalation.[34] She advanced transparency initiatives, such as improved public reporting on state expenditures, to provide Hoosiers greater visibility into government finances and counter perceptions of opacity in fiscal operations.[35]Fiscal oversight and reforms
As Indiana's State Auditor from January 2015 to January 2017, Suzanne Crouch served as the state's chief financial officer, responsible for auditing state agencies, managing payroll and claims, and ensuring compliance with fiscal statutes. Her office focused on bolstering accountability through enhanced public access to financial data, which enabled empirical scrutiny of expenditures and facilitated targeted reforms to curb inefficiencies.[19] A cornerstone of Crouch's oversight was the expansion of the Indiana Transparency Portal, which tracks state contracts, payments, and budgets. Under her leadership, the portal earned a perfect score of 100 in the 2016 "Following the Money" report by the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), ranking Indiana first among states for online financial transparency—up from 97 in 2015.[36] [37] In August 2015, she implemented detailed online reporting of purchase and travel card transactions, providing granular visibility into over [1](/page/1) billion in annual state card expenditures to detect potential misuse.[38] These measures supported her legislative push for greater accountability, including House Enrolled Act 1105 in 2015, which advanced transparency in government operations.[34] Crouch's reforms emphasized performance evaluation over unchecked growth, as evidenced by Indiana's receipt of the Government Finance Officers Association's Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the 23rd consecutive year in June 2016.[39] By prioritizing data accessibility and audit rigor, her tenure exposed opportunities to eliminate waste—such as duplicative vendor payments—prioritizing returns to taxpayers through streamlined processes rather than expanded bureaucracy, though specific cost reductions were not quantified in contemporaneous state reports.[40]Lieutenant Governor of Indiana
2016 election and transition
Eric Holcomb, who became the Republican gubernatorial nominee after incumbent Governor Mike Pence was selected as Donald Trump's vice presidential running mate, announced on July 29, 2016, that he had chosen incumbent State Auditor Suzanne Crouch as his lieutenant gubernatorial running mate.[41][42] The Indiana Republican Party's state committee unanimously endorsed the pairing the following day, solidifying the ticket amid a compressed campaign timeline following Pence's withdrawal from the primary ballot.[43] In the November 8, 2016, general election, the Holcomb-Crouch ticket secured victory over Democrat John Gregg and his running mate Christina Hale, garnering 1,397,396 votes or 51.38% of the total popular vote statewide.[44] The win reflected robust Republican voter turnout in Indiana, consistent with the party's strong performance that year, including Donald Trump's statewide margin of victory exceeding 18 percentage points in the concurrent presidential contest.[45] Holcomb and Crouch were inaugurated on January 9, 2017, with Crouch assuming the office of lieutenant governor.[46] In this role, she took on constitutional duties such as presiding over the Indiana Senate—casting tie-breaking votes when necessary—and serving as chair of the Indiana State Animal Care and Control Board, the Indiana Counterterrorism and Security Council, and other statutory commissions.[46] The transition emphasized administrative continuity, leveraging Crouch's prior experience in state fiscal oversight from her auditorship to support ongoing Republican priorities in government efficiency.[25]Major initiatives in mental health and addiction
As Lieutenant Governor, Suzanne Crouch co-founded the Indiana Mental Health Roundtable in 2021 to tackle the state's mental health crisis, which affects approximately one in five Hoosiers, by fostering cross-sector collaboration among healthcare, business, government, and nonprofit leaders to improve access, prevention, and infrastructure.[47][48] The initiative emphasized engaging the private sector to provide resources for mental illness and addictions, including summits like the 2023 event aimed at developing comprehensive action steps.[49][50] Crouch's advocacy drew from personal family tragedies, including the suicide of her sister, motivating efforts to reduce stigma and promote early intervention over pharmaceutical dependency where community-based prevention could prove more effective.[51] In addressing addictions, particularly the opioid crisis, Crouch highlighted Indiana's progress, with CDC data showing a nearly 18% decrease in overdose deaths—the second-highest percentage reduction among all states—as of 2024, amid ongoing state efforts to distribute naloxone kits and combat stigma that deters treatment-seeking.[52][53] She supported expanding evidence-based services, testifying in favor of Senate Bill 1 in January 2023, which allocated $30 million over two years to enhance the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and broaden behavioral health infrastructure, including crisis response for substance use disorders.[14] Crouch prioritized rural areas through targeted grants via the Office of Community and Rural Affairs, such as $500,000 in 2021 for workshops in 23 communities to address farm stress and connect farmers to mental health resources, countering isolation without relying on expansive entitlements.[54] Additional funding included $2.9 million in 2023 for recovery housing programs aiding addiction recovery in underserved regions and $200,000 in 2024 for pilot projects combating loneliness via community connections, with a focus on rural social ties.[55][56] These efforts complemented local roundtables, such as those in Clinton County (October 2024) and Purdue University (October 2024), emphasizing collaborative improvements in youth and student mental health amid high suicide risks.[57][58] The Roundtable's Mental Health INdex further assessed county-level needs, informing data-driven allocations for psychiatric beds and workforce shortages, where Indiana lagged at 11.9 beds per 100,000 people.[47][59]Economic and fiscal policy contributions
As Lieutenant Governor, Suzanne Crouch advocated for eliminating Indiana's individual income tax, which stood at 3.15% and generated about $8 billion annually or roughly one-third of state revenue, arguing it would retain more earnings in residents' pockets to drive per capita income growth and economic competitiveness.[60][61] She proposed achieving this through government spending limits and fund redirection, positioning the policy as a catalyst for job attraction and entrepreneurial activity without expanding bureaucracy.[62] Crouch advanced business incentives by promoting certified sites ready for investment, such as the 2017 designation of the Wabash Business Complex as prime certified under her oversight with the Office of Community and Rural Affairs, facilitating swift corporate expansions and job growth.[63] These efforts aligned with the Holcomb administration's economic strategy, yielding eight consecutive record years of development by 2024, including $39.2 billion in planned investments and commitments for over 169 projects statewide, which supported broad-based employment gains amid critiques focused on wage disparities.[64] Through leadership of rural initiatives, Crouch allocated development funds prioritizing infrastructure and market access over direct subsidies, such as $6.7 million in 2024 grants for food supply chain enhancements and over $8 million in community block grants for rural water and facility upgrades in 2024.[65][66] These measures correlated with agricultural sector expansion, as the total value of production rose 64% from 2017 levels to over $18 billion by 2022, and cash receipts from farm marketings reached $17.1 billion in 2023 despite farmland reductions of 345,700 acres since 2010, underscoring productivity gains via enhanced efficiency rather than acreage dependence.[67][68][69]Rural affairs and agricultural leadership
As Lieutenant Governor, Suzanne Crouch served as Indiana's Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, overseeing the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) and advancing policies to strengthen the state's $35 billion agricultural sector, which ranks eighth nationally in farming output.[70] Her tenure emphasized market-driven growth, including support for the Indiana Grown initiative launched prior to her oversight but expanded under ISDA to connect producers with consumers and expand export opportunities for local commodities.[71] This program facilitated identification and purchase of Indiana products, contributing to sustained economic contributions from agriculture amid competitive global markets.[72] Crouch promoted agricultural innovation through endorsement of the Indiana Agriculture 2027 strategic plan, which prioritized commercialization in biotechnology, biofuels, and crop enhancements to boost producer revenues without relying on subsidies.[73] ISDA under her leadership collaborated with organizations like AgriNovus Indiana to foster biotech advancements, aligning with empirical trends in yield improvements and trade competitiveness, as Indiana's farm output grew alongside national export records for corn and soybeans during 2017–2023.[74] These efforts countered urban-centric regulatory pressures by focusing on voluntary adoption of technologies that enhanced farm profitability, with state agricultural GDP contributions rising from approximately $31 billion in 2022 to over $35 billion by 2023.[75] In environmental stewardship, Crouch directed funding for practical conservation, awarding over $2.3 million in 2024 to 48 projects across local soil and water districts for water quality improvements, emphasizing cost-effective practices like nutrient management over restrictive mandates.[76] Under ISDA, Hoosier farmers achieved record cover crop acreage for the third consecutive year by 2023, exceeding prior benchmarks through producer incentives rather than coercion, which preserved soil health and reduced runoff while maintaining operational flexibility.[77] These initiatives balanced ecological outcomes with economic realism, as voluntary participation correlated with lower compliance costs and sustained yields, avoiding the pitfalls of overly prescriptive federal programs.[78]Criticisms and policy debates
Democratic critics of the Holcomb-Crouch administration argued that Indiana's emphasis on fiscal restraint limited investments in social safety nets, such as expanded Medicaid eligibility or direct cash assistance programs, potentially exacerbating vulnerabilities among low-income households.[79] However, state data indicated that Indiana's official poverty rate stood at 12.2% in 2023, comparable to the national average of 11.1%, with work-focused policies like strict TANF requirements correlating to low extreme poverty levels of around 7% and unemployment rates below the national median during the period.[80][81] Proponents of the administration's approach, including Crouch, attributed these outcomes to incentives for employment and self-reliance rather than dependency-inducing spending, evidenced by the state's sustained population growth driven by net migration inflows of over 30,000 in 2024 alone.[82] In addressing the opioid crisis, which Crouch identified as Indiana's "greatest challenge" with rural areas particularly affected due to economic factors, her initiatives prioritized treatment expansion, stigma reduction, and public-private partnerships to increase access to care, including through the Indiana Mental Health Roundtable she co-chaired.[83][15] Critics, including some opinion pieces and advocates for alternative harm reduction strategies, contended that the response fell short by not incorporating measures like cannabis legalization, which studies in other states linked to reduced opioid mortality, instead attributing rises in overdoses—reaching record levels in 2021—to federal policy failures under President Biden.[84] Defenders highlighted empirical progress, such as Indiana's improvement to 24th in national mental health rankings by 2024, crediting targeted expansions in recovery services over decriminalization approaches that risked normalizing substance use without addressing root causes like addiction and mental health comorbidities.[85] Fiscal policy debates within the Republican Party centered on the pace of tax reductions, with Crouch advocating for accelerated cuts, including eventual elimination of the state income tax, to further stimulate growth amid Indiana's robust economic indicators.[60] Other GOP figures expressed skepticism about the feasibility without corresponding spending reforms, citing potential revenue shortfalls, though the state's consistent AAA credit ratings from all major agencies since 2010—affirmed in 2023 and 2024—underscored the sustainability of prior restraint under Holcomb and Crouch.[86][87] This internal tension reflected broader conservative discussions on balancing deficit reduction with incentives for inward migration and business retention, which contributed to annual population gains exceeding 44,000 residents in 2024.[88]2024 gubernatorial campaign
Campaign launch and platform
On December 12, 2022, Indiana Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch launched her campaign for the 2024 gubernatorial election, framing her bid as a continuation of conservative governance amid Governor Eric Holcomb's term limits. Crouch, with nearly three decades in public service including legislative, auditing, and executive roles, presented herself as a fiscal watchdog poised to build on Indiana's economic momentum while addressing vulnerabilities like mental health crises and family protections. Her announcement emphasized hands-on experience over novelty, vowing to prioritize Hoosier needs over expansive government.[89][90] Central to her platform was a pledge to eliminate Indiana's state individual income tax, detailed in a December 5, 2023, policy outline that proposed achieving this through spending controls, surplus preservation, and redirection of revenues from non-essential programs. Crouch argued this would amplify Indiana's competitive advantages—such as its top-10 national rankings in manufacturing jobs and business climate—by further reducing tax burdens and drawing investment, without risking core services. She coupled this fiscal conservatism with commitments to expand mental health and addiction treatment access, drawing from her lieutenant governorship initiatives that increased funding for community-based care, and to uphold pro-life policies, including support for abortion restrictions post-Dobbs, which secured endorsements from groups like Indiana Right to Life.[91][92][93] Crouch's early fundraising underscored donor trust in her record of auditing state finances and advocating restraint, positioning her with a cash-on-hand lead of over $1 million by early 2024 among primary contenders, fueled by contributions from business and conservative networks. This financial edge enabled sustained outreach to the Republican base, highlighting data like Indiana's $6 billion surplus as evidence of viable tax relief paths.[94][95]Primary challenges and outcome
In the Republican primary held on May 7, 2024, Crouch faced a crowded field of six candidates, including U.S. Senator Mike Braun, who secured the nomination with 39.5% of the vote (237,125 votes), business executive Brad Chambers, and real estate developer Eric Doden.) The contest featured intense attacks among contenders, with Crouch and others criticizing opponents' ties to establishment figures and Washington influence, amid a campaign marked by the infusion of national political narratives over Indiana-specific concerns.[96] This dynamic highlighted internal party divisions, as Crouch emphasized defending Hoosier conservatism against externally driven agendas, positioning her extensive state experience against rivals' outsider appeals.[96] The primary became Indiana's most expensive in state history, with Republican gubernatorial candidates collectively spending over $35 million on advertising and outreach, diluting messages in a fragmented electorate.[97] Despite her incumbency as lieutenant governor and endorsements from state legislators, Crouch finished second with 21.7% of the vote (130,219 votes), trailing Braun but ahead of Chambers (17.5%, 104,723 votes) and Doden (11.8%, 71,031 votes).) In her concession speech that evening, Crouch congratulated Braun, offered her support, and called for party unity to maintain Indiana's conservative trajectory in the general election, critiquing the primary's divisiveness while expressing no regrets over her campaign effort.[98] This graceful exit underscored strategic factors like the crowded field and Trump-endorsed momentum favoring Braun, which overshadowed Crouch's fiscal and rural-focused record despite high voter turnout of approximately 600,000 Republican ballots statewide.)Electoral history
Local and state legislative elections
Crouch won her first elective office as Vanderburgh County Auditor in the 1994 general election, defeating the Democratic chief deputy auditor who had previously unseated an incumbent Republican.[99] She was re-elected to a second term in 1998, serving until 2002 while prioritizing government efficiency and receiving multiple awards for her office's performance.[4][1] In 2002, Crouch was elected to the Vanderburgh County Board of Commissioners, succeeding in a competitive Republican-leaning district in the Evansville area.[5] She served from 2003 to 2005, focusing on local fiscal management amid a period of county budget constraints. Crouch was appointed to the Indiana House of Representatives for District 78 (encompassing parts of Vanderburgh and Warrick counties) in October 2005 following a vacancy.[25] She won re-election in subsequent cycles, with results summarized below:| Year | Opponent | Votes for Crouch | Percentage | Total Votes | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | None (unopposed) | 21,300 | 100% | 21,300 | N/A |
| 2008 | James Allen Rapp (D) | 26,510 | 72.2% | 36,696 | 16,324 votes |
| 2010 | Steven Smith (D) | 20,866 | 76.0% | 27,460 | 14,272 votes |
| 2012 | None (unopposed; post-redistricting) | 21,991 | 100% | 21,991 | N/A |
Statewide executive elections
In the 2014 Indiana election for State Auditor, Suzanne Crouch secured victory with 793,633 votes, representing 59.62% of the total, defeating Democrat Michael A. Claytor's 479,109 votes (36.00%) and Libertarian John Andrew Schick's 46,956 votes (3.53%), amid a Republican wave that aligned with the party's statewide dominance in down-ballot races.[31] This margin reflected Indiana's emerging Republican lean, where the party captured multiple executive offices with comfortable pluralities.| Candidate | Party | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suzanne Crouch | Republican | 793,633 | 59.62% |
| Michael A. Claytor | Democratic | 479,109 | 36.00% |
| John Andrew Schick | Libertarian | 46,956 | 3.53% |
| Total | 1,319,698 | 100% |
| Ticket | Party | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Holcomb / Suzanne Crouch | Republican | 1,397,396 | 51.38% |
| John R. Gregg / Rex Bell | Democratic | 1,090,427 | 40.07% |
| Don Bates Jr. / Christopher Wright | Libertarian | 233,513 | 8.59% |
| Total | 2,721,336 | 100% |