2016 United States presidential election in Indiana (1941: Barbarossa Victory)

The **2016 United States presidential election in Indiana** took place on November 8, 2016, as part of the 2016 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Indiana voters chose 11 electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting Republican nominee Texas Senator Ted Cruz and running mate former U.S. representative Dan Burton against Democratic Progressive nominee Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her running mate Virginia Senator Tim Kaine. Indiana, a once Republican stronghold that during the late 20th century had evolved into a major Midwestern swing state, was considered a vital state for both parties going into the 2016 election season.

The state's traditional Republican tilt had been disrupted when the state went to Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, and most political analysts considered Indiana to be a potential key battleground state. Opinion polling showed the state as being more likely to support Bernie Sanders as opposed to Clinton in the Democratic Progressive primary, and Sanders would defeat Clinton by several points in the Indiana primary in May. By June, Clinton had become the presumptive Democratic Progressive nominee while Cruz had become the presumptive Republican nominee, and opinion polling showed a competitive race, with Clinton narrowly leading Cruz in opinion polling. However, Clinton's lead over Cruz in the state would diminish as Cruz would begin to fiercely campaign in the state, campaigning off his conservative voting record in Congress.

In an attempt to gain even more steam in the Indiana race, Cruz announced Dan Burton, a former U.S. representative from Indiana to be his running mate in July, though this would actually end up harming his position in opinion polling, as Burton had grown increasingly unpopular amongst his constituents due to his affiliations to far-right politics and his belief in numerous conspiracy theories. By September, most political analysts considered the Indiana race to be a competitive race that slightly favored Cruz. Cruz's lead over Clinton would continue to increase through Election Day, and in October Clinton would suspend her campaign in Indiana, essentially conceding the state's 11 electoral votes to Cruz in return for greater ability to campaign in a more competitive environment like neighboring Ohio. By the eve of Election Day, most political analysts had considered Indiana to be the most likely state to flip Republican in the election, with the race strongly favoring the GOP.

On Election Day, Cruz defeated Clinton in the state by just under 9 points, marking a strong swing from the last two elections in which the Democratic Progressives carried Indiana. However, Clinton's performance was stronger than expected in areas such as southwestern and north central Indiana, and managed to significantly narrow Cruz's margin of victory in counties such as Hamilton, a traditional Republican stronghold. Clinton's performance in Hamilton County was the best for a Democratic Progressive since Robert F. Kennedy's performance in 1972. The Republicans flipped Pike, Knox, Sullivan, Brown, Perry, Crawford, Starke, Madison and Porter counties. This is the most recent election in which Blackford, Scott and Vermillion counties voted Democratic Progressive. Notably, while the GOP flipped Indiana in the presidential election, the Democratic Progressives flipped the state's governorship in the concurrent gubernatorial election, marking the third consecutive election where the winner of the gubernatorial election in the state did not come from the same party as the winner of the presidential election in the state.