Gov. Holcomb Names New Secretary Of State

Wednesday, March 17, 2021 at 5:08 AM

By Office of Governor Eric Holcomb, news release

The position opened following Connie Lawson's resignation in February.

Holli Sullivan. Photo provided.

(Indianapolis, Ind.) - Gov. Eric J. Holcomb has announced Rep. Holli Sullivan will serve as Indiana’s 62nd Secretary of State.

“I’m thrilled Rep. Holli Sullivan has accepted this new leadership role for I know she will serve Hoosiers with the same intellect, integrity and energy she brought to the General Assembly,” Gov. Holcomb said. “Secretary of State Sullivan hits the ground running, building on the remarkable work Hoosiers have come to expect from the office during Connie Lawson’s historic tenure.”

Sullivan was sworn in as Secretary of State today by Chief Justice Loretta Rush. She follows Secretary Connie Lawson, who notified Governor Holcomb in February that she would submit a formal resignation once a successor was ready to serve. Lawson is the longest serving Secretary of State in Indiana history.

"I want to thank Secretary Connie Lawson for her decades of public service and Governor Holcomb for this opportunity to serve Hoosiers," Sullivan said. "I look forward to building on Indiana's record of free, fair, and secure elections to make sure every eligible voter can vote and every legal vote is counted.”

Sullivan has served portions of Vanderburgh and Warrick counties as a state representative since 2014. Sullivan serves as Budget Subcommittee Chair on the House Ways and Means Committee, where she oversees the creation of the state’s biennial budget. She also serves as vice chair of the House Rules and Legislative Procedures Committee, is a member of the House Elections and Apportionment Committee and a member of POWER, the House's bipartisan women's caucus. She also serves as the current vice chair of the Indiana Republican Party.

During Sullivan's tenure in the Indiana General Assembly, she worked with the Secretary of State’s office to pass legislation funding critical local cybersecurity improvements in time for the 2020 elections. She’s also worked with the office’s auto dealer services division to modernize Indiana Code through legislation.

Sullivan began her career in management at General Motors, where she oversaw more than 100 employees in the auto giant’s paint division. Then holding a similar role for Toyota’s Indiana manufacturing operation, she supervised production quality and staffing across the company’s Hoosier plants. From there, Sullivan launched her own consulting firm, Onward Consulting, and began working with the University of Southern Indiana at the school's Center for Applied Research.

Sullivan earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Missouri and has continued her education in business management at Lindenwood University.

Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch released the following statement:

"Representative Sullivan will serve Hoosiers well in her new role. She has shown exceptional leadership skills in regards to our elections in her time at the Statehouse, where she has served on the House Elections and Apportionment Committee, and worked with the Secretary of State prior to the 2020 election to fund critical cybersecurity improvements. While I will miss having her as my hometown representative, I know all Hoosiers will benefit as she becomes Indiana's next Secretary of State."