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A trademark of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s administration has been his full-throttle effort to expand economic development opportunities and entice more companies to establish operations in the state.
A key to reaching the level of success seen thus far and laying the groundwork for future agreements, Holcomb says, is meeting with leaders of foreign companies during trade trips. These excursions have been described by his administration as meeting companies at their doorstep, following up on leads and pitching companies to become part-time Hoosiers.
“There is no substitute for showing up,” Holcomb told reporters in July. “We back it up.”
But will the next governor adopt Holcomb’s strategy? It’s not clear.
Republican Sen. Mike Braun and Democrat Jennifer McCormick have underscored the importance of maintaining relationships with international companies while improving Indiana’s overall economy.
But Braun told IBJ in early September that he wants to be at home in the state working on his first steps as governor, not traveling. And moving forward, he later told reporters, trade trips won’t be as frequent as they have been of late.
“When it comes to how much you’re going to spend time overseas … versus in state, I can tell you that I won’t be spending that much time overseas,” Braun said to a small group of reporters last month. “That’s not something you’d have to do as governor. I’ll do it when it’s essential.”
Maintaining those relationships is still important, he said, and he will take other steps besides in-person traveling to do so. He said he plans to carry on the economic development mantle started by former Gov. Mitch Daniels, and he credits the Holcomb administration for establishing many foreign relationships.
“I will take the cue and make sure that we’re keeping those relationships in good shape,” he told IBJ. “That doesn’t mean that I physically have to do it.”
McCormick did not say whether she would travel more or less than Holcomb, but she did emphasize the importance of such trips for economic development.
“International relationships are incredibly important to the existing business that is here but also to those that may want to be attracted to come to Indiana,” she said.
McCormick also on the need to build up a skilled workforce, scale up child care and improve the quality of life to support the jobs international companies expect if they invest in an operation in the state.
“It’s just so twofold,” she said. “So absolutely, we have to be international partners, but we have to do the work at the same time at home in order to have the workforce necessary in order to keep the viability of Indiana strong.”
As governor, Holcomb has traveled on 25 overseas economic development trips (27 total including Canada) since he took office in 2016. He’s embarked on five in 2024 alone.
Holcomb’s travels has included a range of designations on five continents, including the countries of Italy, Brazil, Germany, Japan and Egypt.
Travel is typically covered by the Indiana Economic Development Foundation.
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It will be nice for me to stop ragging on the governor to my young children who basically only have known Holcomb when we get the breath of fresh air Braun.
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