Pence, who had flown to be in NY on Thursday night, was originally scheduled to have been announced as the nominee at an event on Friday morning.
Advertisement
Trump’s son, Don Jr., told NBC News in an interview Thursday afternoon that the shortlist is “down to three” – meaning Pence, Chris Christie and Newt Gingrich – but that his father would “come up with a decision today”. The Indianapolis Star has reported Pence “swore off harsh political tactics”.
Pence has until noon Friday to formally withdraw from the IN governor’s race.
Pence is to the right of Trump on most social issues, mainly abortion rights, giving Trump the cover he needs with the Republican far-right. Others, though, are looking back at the past few years and the turmoil, they say, Mike Pence has brought to the state of Indiana.
Unlike Christie and Gingrich, Pence has not been allotted time to speak at the convention. Pence is a low-profile politician who, The Times said, was largely defined by his Christian faith, and is thus likely to help the nominee with conservatives still sceptical of him.
If Pence is Trump’s choice, it would dramatically reshape the top of the IN ballot.
Other Republicans with knowledge of the process said there had been no calls to Christie, either.
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. Many state businesses – including the NCAA, which was readying to hold the Final Four there – said they reconsidered deals and investments.
“I’ve had some phone calls and I think probably everyone has”, she said. I hope that (Trump) he picks a good movement conservative. Ted Cruz of Texas, in April before the in primary, but he praised the NY businessman and said he would work on behalf of the eventual Republican nominee. 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. Pence has made comments in the past that directly counter positions Trump has taken on the campaign trail.
According to the Republican familiar with the process, the frenetic day was made more complicated by the fact that Trump was in California for a series of fundraisers, isolated from almost all of his closest advisers, including his three adult children and his campaign chairman, Paul Manafort. He followed up on that appearance with tweets supportive of Trump.
But Trump and Pence have not always seen eye-to-eye on policy.
Pence ran unsuccessfully for Congress twice before he was elected to the House of Representatives in 2000, where he was chairman of the Republican Study Committee, a group of conservatives.
Advertisement
Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb, Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma and U.S. Reps.
