Suzanne Crouch (born February 27, 1952) is an American politician who served as the 52nd
lieutenant governor of Indiana
The lieutenant governor of Indiana is a Constitution of Indiana, constitutional office in the US state of Indiana. Republican Party (United States), Republican Micah Beckwith, who assumed office January 13, 2025, is the incumbent. The office hol ...
, from 2017 to 2025. She previously served as the 56th
state auditor of Indiana from 2014 to 2017. In
2024
The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
she ran for governor of Indiana, losing the primary election to
U.S. Senator Mike Braun
Michael Braun (born March 24, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 52nd governor of Indiana since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, he served from 2019 to 2025 as a United States senator from Indiana and from 2 ...
.
A member of the
Republican Party, Crouch served in the
Indiana House of Representatives
The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House mem ...
from 2005 to 2014. On December 15, 2013,
Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Mike Pence
Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
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
Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 census, it is Indiana's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the most populous city in S ...
and received her
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
degree from
Purdue University
Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
, majoring in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
. Before serving in local government, Crouch chaired the
Vanderburgh County
Vanderburgh County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 180,136. The county seat is in Evansville. While Vanderburgh County was the eighth-largest county in 2020 population in Indiana, it is also the eighth-s ...
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
Vanderburgh County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 180,136. The county seat is in Evansville. While Vanderburgh County was the eighth-largest county in 2020 population in Indiana, it is also the eighth-s ...
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
Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 census, it is Indiana's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the most populous city in S ...
,
Newburgh,
Richland,
Hatfield,
Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...
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
Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
was named
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
's running mate in the
2016 presidential election, he had to withdraw from the
gubernatorial election
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...
.
Eric Holcomb
Eric Joseph Holcomb ( ; born May 2, 1968) is an American politician who served as the 51st governor of Indiana, from 2017 to 2025. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served from 2016 to 2017 as the 51st Lieuten ...
, the
lieutenant governor of Indiana
The lieutenant governor of Indiana is a Constitution of Indiana, constitutional office in the US state of Indiana. Republican Party (United States), Republican Micah Beckwith, who assumed office January 13, 2025, is the incumbent. The office hol ...
, was chosen as Republican nominee for governor, and Crouch as the nominee for lieutenant governor.
Electoral history
See also
*
List of female lieutenant governors in the United States
References
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Crouch, Suzanne
1952 births
Living people
21st-century American women politicians
21st-century members of the Indiana General Assembly
Candidates in the 2024 United States elections
County auditors in the United States
County commissioners in Indiana
Indiana state auditors
Lieutenant governors of Indiana
Politicians from Evansville, Indiana
Purdue University alumni
Republican Party members of the Indiana House of Representatives
Women state legislators in Indiana