Photos courtesy of Mitch Daniels


From Indy to Washington to Indy: the road of new Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels

By JON SINGER

Republicans' dominance at the polls on election-day of didn't skip over Indiana. The Hoosier state chose a new Governor, Mitch Daniels.

Daniels is refreshingly humble about the win. He wants success to be defined by what comes next.

"I have said from the beginning that winning an election was never the goal of our campaign," he says. "Our success should not be judged at the ballot box, but by our ability to bring meaningful change to Indiana government."

Daniels also had an unconventional reason for running for the slot. He had never run for public office in the past, and says he had no plans until recently.

"I had finally read one too many stories about Indiana's economic decline," he says, "and (I) realized it was time for a change in state government.

But Daniels had plenty of experience, in and out of government. He's worked for President Reagan and President George W. Bush, as well as for Hudson Institute and Eli Lilly in Indiana.

Daniels, 55, is married to his wife, Cheri, and has four daughters, Meagan, Melissa, Meredith and Maggie.

BEGINNINGS

Daniels' interest in politics was spurred by his parents.

"My parents were actively involved in the community and stressed the importance of civic engagement," he says.

Daniels excelled in school, opening the door for big things in the future. He was named Indiana’s Presidential Scholar in 1967 by President Lyndon Johnson. He then worked for Indianapolis Mayor Richard Lugar as a college intern. Daniels attended Princeton and Georgetown, earning a law degree in 1979.

ON TO WASHINGTON

Daniels made his way to Washington by sticking close to Lugar, who became and U.S. Senator in 1976. Daniels was Lugar's Chief of Staff. Daniels went the extra yard, too.

"I was serving as the executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, which Sen. Lugar chaired at the time. In that role I helped elect Republican Senators around the nation."

Before long, President Ronald Reagan called on Daniels as a senior advisor and the administration’s liaison to the nation’s state and local officials. Daniels served as a member of the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations and as a director of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

As Reagan's term was coming to a close, Daniels headed back to the private sector. He first served as an executive of Hudson Institute, and later returned to Indiana to work for Eli Lilly and Co.

"I always had an interest in working in business," Daniels says. "I enjoyed getting results under pressure and difficult business circumstances."

Immediately after President George W. Bush took office, in January 2001, Daniels was called back to Washington to be a part of Bush's Cabinet.

"The President was looking for someone with business and political experience," Daniels says. "I had worked with a number of members of the President's staff in previous years and was honored to be called to service by our President."

Daniels served as director of the Office of Management and Budget. In June 2003, however, he headed back to Indiana, with thoughts of running for Governor in his head.

Daniels is happy to have been a part of the Reagan and Bush Administrations.

"They were remarkably similar in the fact that both of these great Presidents had clarity of purpose, conviction to their principles, and the strength to stand up for their beliefs and do what's right without regard to polls," he says.

Now, Daniels has a new hill to climb. He's the main man in Indiana. And though he's handled budgetary problems before, states have many other problems to deal with.

So the next four years will be new for Daniels, and surely challenging. And as Daniels says himself, only time will tell if he'll succeed.