Suzanne Crouch

Suzanne Crouch
52nd Lieutenant Governor of Indiana
Incumbent
Assumed office January 9, 2017
Governor	Eric Holcomb
Preceded by	Eric Holcomb
56th Auditor of Indiana
In office January 2, 2014 – January 9, 2017
Governor	Mike Pence
Preceded by	Dwayne Sawyer
Succeeded by	Tera Klutz
Member of the Indiana House of Representatives from the 78th district
In office October 16, 2005 – January 1, 2014
Preceded by	Vaneta Becker
Succeeded by	Holli Sullivan
Personal details
Born	(1952-02-27) February 27, 1952 Evansville, Indiana, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Larry Downs
Children	1 daughter
Education	Purdue University (BA)

Suzanne Crouch (born February 27, 1952) is an American politician who has served as the 52nd lieutenant governor of Indiana since 2017. She previously served as the 56th state auditor of Indiana from 2014 to 2017. In 2024 she ran for governor of Indiana, losing the primary election to U.S. Senator Mike Braun.

A member of the Republican Party, Crouch served in the Indiana House of Representatives from 2005 to 2014. On December 15, 2013, Governor Mike Pence appointed her to serve as the 56th state auditor of Indiana. Crouch was reelected to that position in 2014. She resigned as state auditor following her election as lieutenant governor of Indiana in 2016.

Early life

Crouch graduated from Mater Dei High School in Evansville and received her Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University, majoring in political science. Before serving in local government, Crouch chaired the Vanderburgh County Republican Central Committee for four years. Under her chairship, a majority of Republicans were elected to County Council, the first time in 60 years that Republicans had controlled that body.

County government

County Auditor

Crouch was elected Vanderburgh County Auditor in 1994 and served two terms.

Vanderburgh County Commissioner

In 2002, Crouch was elected to the Vanderburgh County Board of Commissioners and served as president until the end of her term in 2005. She worked to televise weekly commission meetings and held public hearings to seek the public's input on important issues. While she was president, the commissioners, for the first time, applied and received federal transportation dollars for a local road project.

Indiana State Representative

In 2005 the district 78 seat for state representative was vacated by Vaneta Becker, who had moved to the State Senate to fill the vacated seat of Greg Server. House District 78 contains parts of Spencer, Vanderburgh and Warrick counties. Parts of Evansville, Newburgh, Richland, Hatfield, Darmstadt and McCutchanville are in the district. Crouch was elected to fill the position in a caucus by precinct committeemen. She was appointed vice chair of the Public Health Committee in the state legislature. Crouch was challenged in the 2006 Republican primary by conservative activist Jonathan Fulton, but defeated him with 63% of the vote.

Indiana State Auditor

After Indiana State Auditor Dwayne Sawyer resigned in 2013, Crouch was appointed to fill the position. In 2014, after the completion of Sawyer's term, the Republican Party of Indiana officially nominated Crouch for that year's election. On November 4, Crouch was elected by 23 points over Democratic nominee Mike Claytor, with 59.6% of the vote.

Lieutenant governor

2016 election

After Governor Mike Pence was named Donald Trump's running mate in the 2016 presidential election, he had to withdraw from the gubernatorial election. Eric Holcomb, the lieutenant governor of Indiana, was chosen as Republican nominee for governor, and Crouch as the nominee for lieutenant governor.

Electoral history

Indiana State House of Representatives 78th District Republican primary election, 2006
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Suzanne Crouch (inc.)	4,032	62.68
Republican	Jonathan "Jon" Fulton	2,401	37.32

Indiana State House of Representatives 78th District election, 2006
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Suzanne Crouch (inc.)	21,300	100.00

Indiana State House of Representatives 78th District election, 2008
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Suzanne Crouch (inc.)	26,510	70.27
Democratic	James Pete Rapp	11,214	29.73

Indiana State House of Representatives 78th District election, 2010
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Suzanne Crouch (inc.)	20,866	75.99
Democratic	Steven Smith	6,594	24.01

Indiana State House of Representatives 78th District election, 2012
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Suzanne Crouch (inc.)	21,991	100.00

Indiana Auditor Election, 2014
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Suzanne Crouch	793,633	59.62
Democratic	Michael Claytor	479,109	35.99
Libertarian	John Schick	58,332	4.38

See also

• List of female lieutenant governors in the United States

External links

• Appearances on C-SPAN
• "Biography of Suzanne Crouch". IN.gov. 5 January 2022.
• Profile at Vote Smart