Edgar Whitcomb - Governor - Election and Infighting

Election and Infighting

At the 1968 Republican state convention, Whitcomb competed to win the nomination for governor against Indiana House of Representatives minority leader Otis R. Bowen and future Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz. Backed by the party leaders of several large counties, Whitcomb overcame Bowen and Butz to secure the nomination. Bowen, after being nominated for Governor in 1972, advocated the nomination of candidates for governor and US Senator by primary elections. Whitcomb’s opponent in the general election was Democrat candidate Robert Rock, and the campaign focused largely on tax policy and national issues. Although Democrats had taken strong majorities in the state government in the past two elections, the 1968 election returned the Republicans to power, giving them strong majorities in the General Assembly, and a win in all the congressional and statewide elections, except one. Whitcomb was among the benefactors of the cycle and took office on January 13, 1969.

During his term the state adopted a new districting system that for the first time granted more seats in the Indiana General Assembly to urban areas. The situation created by the new development caused a split in the party between the urban and rural Republicans. Urban Republicans and their representatives tended to favor increasing government provided services and spending, while the rural Republicans tended to favor reduced spending and more limited government. Whitcomb found himself in party with the rural Republicans, while Bowen, who had become speaker of the house, grew to become leader among the urban members. Whitcomb vetoed a number of spending bills passed by the assembly and began a fight for control of the party leadership. Whitcomb installed John Snyder as party chairman, but Snyder changed sides and began supporting Bowen. Whitcomb responded by stopping collection of the two percent fund, which required all state patronage employees to pay two percent of their income to the party in power. The rule had been enacted during the Great Depression as a means to dissuade parties from sweeping opponents out of patronage jobs upon taking office. Snyder soon resigned from his leadership position and Whitcomb installed a new chairman, Jim Neal, a newspaper editor from Noblesville, who remained friendly to his positions, but neutral in the 1972 convention. and he resumed collection of the fund. Bowen, meanwhile, had been able to install a number of people in key county leadership positions that effectively gave his wing of the party real control.