CQ Roll Call reports that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has chosen Mike Pence as his running mate.
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Trump and his new running mate will make their first appearance as a team Friday in NY.
Even with sources and multiple news organizations reporting Pence has been offered the job, Trump called into Fox News Thursday night and said he hasn’t “made my final, final decision”.
Pence is seen as a safer political option for Trump, who also considered candidates who mirror his hard-line personality such as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. I think he is someone who has connected with everyday Americans like no one since Ronald Reagan.
Pence is running for re-election, but IN law prevents him from seeking two offices at once.
He also comes from a state that Democrats won in 2008 and, perhaps most crucially, provides a bridge to socially conservative Republicans who have been put off by Trump’s bombast and ideological leanings. Pence must decide by then whether to run for re-election as Indiana’s governor. As speculation about his future swirled, he calmly answered questions about the selection process on Facebook Live, saying he had told Trump the choice was between having “two pirates on the ticket or a pirate and a relatively stable, more normal person”.
And he knows his way around Washington: He held a seat in the House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013 and served as chairman of the House Republican Conference – the party’s third most important position on Capitol Hill – from 2009 to 2011. Before entering politics, he was a conservative talk radio host and hosted a Sunday political TV show in Indianapolis. “Mike Pence is a pro-life trailblazer and Mr. Trump could not have made a better choice”.
He has described himself as “a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order”.
Some top conservatives, though, have been wary of Pence, due to amendments he agreed to for a religious freedom bill he signed into law in 2015. “He’s a builder. He’s a fighter and he’s a patriot”, Pence said.
Trump has met with Pence several times in recent days and campaigned with him Tuesday evening in Indiana. He endorsed Trump shortly after he won his state – a win that effectively ended the GOP primary after Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich dropped out.
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“Donald J. Trump’s campaign has signaled strongly to Republicans in Washington that he will pick Mike Pence, the governor of in, as his running mate, though Republicans caution the party’s mercurial presidential candidate may still backtrack on his apparent choice”. That means he won’t help Trump bring in any Jewish support outside the usual hardline GOP. After facing major political pressure, Pence asked the IN legislature to revise the language, which later passed. According to the Indianapolis Star, potential replacements include Lt. Gov Eric Holcomb and Rep. Susan Brooks.
