Glenda Ritz

Early life and education Glenda Sue Neubauer was born in 1954 in Lafayette, Indiana, to Mr. and Mrs. James L. Neubauer. She graduated from Jefferson High School. She has been married to Gary Ritz of Pendleton, Indiana, since 1977. The couple resides in Carmel, Indiana, and has two adult sons, named Brandon and Philip. Ritz was seen as an underdog with Bennett enjoying a substantial fundraising advantage and support of many prominent Republican officials. She called the election a "referendum" on Bennett's tenure. Ritz won the election in an upset, capturing 52 percent of the vote. Newly elected Governor Mike Pence received fewer votes than Ritz in the general election. Candidate Affiliation Support Outcome Glenda Ritz Democrat 1,332,755 52% Tony Bennett Republican 1,190,716 48%

2016 election

Ritz was defeated in the 2016 general election by Republican nominee Jennifer McCormick.

Tenure Ritz took office on January 19, 2013. Later on, the CECI initiated a plan to remove Ritz from the state board of education by removing the superintendent as the chair. In 2014, Indiana became the first state to pull out of the Common Core standards with the support of the state legislature, Gov. Pence, and endorsed by Ritz and the legislature authorized Ritz to oversee the development of new standards. Pence and Ritz were able to agree on the new standards. New tests were created for those standards and also the federally mandated standards pushed by Pence, which resulted in 12-hours of standardized testing. Controversy developed over who was responsible for length of the testing time. The House agreed to reduce the test by a fourth and the Indiana Department of Education implemented the changes. In 2014, Ritz also opposed the Republicans push to create a fast track for teacher certification saying that the standards for licensing should be kept rigorous. This was passed by the state legislature and signed by Gov. Pence. On January 29, 2015, Indiana's House Education Committee voted in favor of allowing the State Board of Education to elect its own chair rather than be headed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. At the time, Ritz refused to speculate whether she would remain chair.

2016 gubernatorial campaign

Ritz launched her gubernatorial race on June 4, 2015, following the announcements of John Gregg and Karen Tallian. At her announcement, Ritz said that education and the economy would be the centerpiece of her campaign platform. Glenda Ritz officially ended her gubernatorial campaign on August 7.