Governor-elect Eric Holcomb introduced his transition team — a group with strong ties to former Gov. Mitch Daniels.
Co-leading the 16-member transition board will be Earl Goode, a former chief of staff to Daniels, and Kyle Hupfer , who directed the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and served as chairman of the Indiana State Fair Commission under Daniels.
Other members include Becky Skillman, who served as lieutenant governor with Daniels, and Jeff Knight, chairman of the University of Southern Indiana board of trustees who was first appointed by Daniels.
The transition team will operate as a non-profit entity called Next Level Indiana Inc. The organization will manage the transition and inaugural activities until Holcomb takes office in January. 2017.
Holcomb says while it’s just a first step, he’s convinced that their efforts will set the tone for his administration.
The make-up of the transition team could be an important indication about how Holcomb will govern. Holcomb’s close ties to both Daniels and outgoing Gov. Mike Pence are is a frequent source of speculation about which governor he is most likely to emulate.
Holcomb defeated Democrat John Gregg by a wider-than-expected margin of nearly 7 percentage points on Tuesday, riding a red wave in Indiana powered by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, which also allowed the Indiana House to maintain its GOP supermajority.
Holcomb’s transition team did not include any Pence staffers, though one part of the reason for that may be that Pence’s team will be experiencing its own transition as the governor prepares to become the nation’s next vice president.
