Pence asks Holcomb to stay as Ind. GOP chairman

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Gov. Mike Pence has asked Eric Holcomb to remain as chairman of the Indiana Republican Party.

Pence urged members of the state GOP's central committee to back Holcomb in a message Friday. The long-time aide to former Gov. Mitch Daniels has been party chairman for two years.

Holcomb told the Evansville Courier & Press on Saturday that he has decided to stay on as chairman if he's approved by the central committee next month.

He says he and Pence are pleased with the state party's current level of control, which includes the governor's office, seven of Indiana's nine congressional seats and more than two-thirds of the seats in both the state House and Senate.

His Democratic counterpart, Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker, is stepping down after eight years.