By Thomas B. Landhorne
Evansville Courier & Press

EVANSVILLE — It was a shocking outcome for Vanderburgh County Republican activists, who watched June 18 as one of their own lost her grip on the third-highest office in Indiana state government.

Holli Sullivan

Holli Sullivan, still secretary of state until January, lost her bid for the nomination for the office in November’s election at the Republican State Convention in Indianapolis.

Sullivan, a local resident and former state legislator, was appointed by Gov. Eric Holcomb in March 2021 after then-Secretary of State Connie Lawson announced her retirement.

But while Sullivan’s loss to fellow Republican Diego Morales has given her future some clarity, it has also created new possibilities for her, said local Republicans and one of the state’s leading political analysts.

“She could be appointed very quickly by Gov. Holcomb as the new head of the (Indiana) Department of Workforce Development,” said Ed Feigenbaum, editor of Indianapolis-based Indiana Legislative Insight. “She might be a very good, very viable pick. That would give her a nice high-profile job for two years, and you can see where things might go from there.”

State officials announced Wednesday that Department of Workforce Development Commissioner Fred Payne is leaving. Payne accepted an offer to become the United Way of Central Indiana’s president and chief executive officer. He starts July 18.

Feigenbaum noted that Sullivan served on the House Ways and Means Committee in the Legislature. She has also worked in the private sector as a manager, consultant and small business owner, including management positions at General Motors and Toyota.

“She’s got a good workforce background. She understands what it takes to move people into the workforce and what big employers like Toyota in the state need,” he said.

Indiana’s secretary of state is in charge of running the state’s elections, among other duties.

Sullivan, who did not return a message seeking an interview for this story, remains a registered voter in Vanderburgh County.

Several local GOP activists said the 49-year-old former lawmaker and statewide officeholder would be warmly welcomed back into the local party scene and would be a credible candidate for any elected office.

“Absolutely. She’s very qualified,” said former GOP chair Connie Carrier.

Wayne Parke, party chairman from 2010 to 2021, was Sullivan’s first opponent in any race. In 2010 Sullivan, then a stay-at-home mom and part-time industrial engineer, opposed Parke in a GOP caucus to pick the Vanderburgh County Republican Party’s next chair.

Parke won — and he has cheered Sullivan’s successes ever since.

“I think that she has a future. I don’t know what it would be, but I think she’s a smart, intelligent lady,” Parke said. “Her political career – if she doesn’t want it to be – it’s not going to be over.”

Parke said he was “stunned” by Sullivan’s loss at the convention. After all, Sullivan had the strong political and financial support of Holcomb, who had appointed her.

But Sullivan’s association with Holcomb was precisely the problem, according to Feigenbaum and local Republicans who were there. Feigenbaum called Sullivan’s loss to Morales a “stern rebuke” — of Holcomb.

GOP conservatives have routinely criticized Holcomb’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing he overstepped his authority both when he required certain businesses to close early in the pandemic and when he ordered elections officials to push back the 2020 primary election.

Holcomb’s decision to veto a controversial bill that would prohibit transgender girls from playing girls’ sports was met with disapproval from many within his party, including Sullivan.

The governor’s appearance at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Switzerland just a month before the GOP convention also alienated staunch conservatives, who accused him of cozying up to corporate and globalist elites. Holcomb said he was there to discuss Indiana’s investment in advanced manufacturing.

Conservatives at the state GOP convention wanted to express their unhappiness with Holcomb, Feigenbaum said — but Holcomb wasn’t on the ballot.

“They had to take out their frustration with Eric Holcomb, and they did so on Holli Sullivan,” he said.

Morales finished with 847 votes to Sullivan’s 561. Knox County Clerk David Shelton received 215 votes.