A veteran of World War II, and furniture salesman by trade, Handley began his political career as a state senator.

His popularity rose among the conservative leadership of the Indiana Republican Party and aided him in winning the nomination and subsequent election as governor in 1956.

He launched an unprecedented mid-term campaign for a United States Senate seat but ended in defeat and he finished his term as governor.

In the first session of the Indiana General Assembly of his term, he supported the Republican position of repealing almost a decade of Democratic legislation and reorganizing the executive branch of the government to decentralize control away from the governor.

Despite making multiple requests to be sent overseas, the army kept him in the United States for the duration of the war to serve as a trainer for new recruits.

As fresh soldiers arrived in the camp he was responsible for overseeing the drill sergeants and ensuring they were properly trained before they were dispatched to serve as reinforcements to the main body of the division.

[3] During his time in the army, he met Barbara Jean Winterble, a psychiatric nurse working at a Red Cross post near his base.

In the 1952 state convention, George N. Craig, a dark horse candidate, won the nomination to the consternation of the party leadership.

[3] Party tickets were not run at that time, and Handley ran a separate campaign for office, advocating a significantly different platform than Craig, who was calling for many progressive reforms.

Thanks in part to the popularity of Dwight Eisenhower, Handley won a landslide victory and defeated his Democratic opponent E. Spencer Dalton by 230,420 votes.

Craig had been in a constant battle with the Republican leadership during his term, and they had largely prevented him from gaining control of any of the state's patronage system.

He said "Hoosiers refuse to stand in line in front of the treasury in Washington with tin cups in their hands," and that depending on the federal government for revenue would lead to the ruin of the state.

President Eisenhower was running for re-election in the same year, and again thanks in part to his popularity, Handley won a second landslide victory, defeating Tucker by 227,475 votes.

His party controlled both houses of the Indiana General Assembly, and for the first time in fifty years, they were able to use their power to implement a major Republican agenda.

Hoping to use the situation to restore some confidence in his conservativeness, Handley proposed that most of the state property taxes be repealed.

When he finally did sign the bill, his public image had already been tarnished by his opponents who attacked his lack of vigor in helping the common worker.

[5] Some in his own party saw his support of the highway construction as breaking one of his campaign pledges to not accept federal money and the string that came attached to it.

Handley countered that the highway was in the best interest of the state and that it was the only exception he would make to his position on accepting federal money.

His Democratic opponent, Vance Hartke, brought up his tax increase, the breaking of his campaign promise, his reluctance on signing the right-to-work bill, and the rising state unemployment.

[5] The constitution of Indiana prevented governors from serving consecutive terms, making it impossible for Handley to seek re-election.

A seven-mile stretch of Indiana State Road 2 from LaPorte's east side to U.S. 20, outside Rolling Prairie, is known as the Harold W. Handley Highway.