Though Trump says that the official announcement will be made tomorrow morning, the national politicosphere has blown up with news that Pence will drop his re-election effort as governor of IN to become Trump’s running mate.
Advertisement
In a new report from the political website, Roll Call, a source says Donald Trump will choose Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate.
A Republican close to Pence in Cleveland, the site of the Republican National Convention that starts next week, said the campaign is preparing to announce the in governor’s selection, but that a last-minute change of heart was still possible.
Trump has proved nothing if not unpredictable and his aides cautioned Thursday against drawing premature conclusions.
Asked about Trump’s choice, spokeswoman Hope Hicks referred to a pair of tweets sent by top campaign officials insisting no decision had been made. The other two were New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, according to people familiar with the candidate’s thinking. The governor met with Trump’s family early Wednesday.
Pence is a former conservative talk-radio host who once described himself as “Rush Limbaugh on decaf”. He told CNN that he had meetings in the city for the campaign – before specifying that it was for the Pence campaign, not Trump’s.
All three of the finalists have had extensive conversations with Trump and his family in recent days. A former U.S. Congressman, Pence was elected as IN governor IN 2012 on a platform of staunch conservative values. His name was mentioned as possible presidential candidate in both 2008 and 2012 and has consistently come up this year as Trump vetted possible running mates.
He became the president of the Indiana Policy Review Foundation, a free market think tank.
Polls show Pence is fighting hard for reelection, virtually tied with Democrat John Gregg.
Advertisement
A Pence campaign official told CNN Wednesday night that it is still moving forward with cutting gubernatorial re-election ads, knocking on doors and other campaign activities until getting the final word from the governor. The Washington Times reported on Sunday that it’s a “95 percent” likelihood he’s already settled on his least-interesting and most-reassuring choice, colorless Indiana Governor Mike Pence, who’ll appear with him at a rally and fundraiser on Tuesday.
