Donald Trump selected Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to serve as his running mate on top of the Republican ticket, the presumptive GOP nominee announced on Twitter on Friday.
I am pleased to announce that I have chosen Governor Mike Pence as my Vice Presidential running mate. News conference tomorrow at 11:00 A.M.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 15, 2016
Trump made the decision formal just days before the convention, but began speaking with Pence and the governor’s team quite some time ago. Pence’s gubernatorial campaign said it was in constant contact with the presumptive nominee’s team in June as it looked to gear up for the general election.
Pence’s selection could attract some anti-Trump and Never Trump voters because of his conservative record. He lost two elections in 1988 and 1990 for Congress before tabling his political ambitions and entering the world of talk radio. He described his conservative broadcasting persona as “Rush Limbaugh on decaf,” and grew his audience in Indianapolis.
In 2000, Pence, who also worked as a practicing attorney and running a free-market think tank, triumphed on his third try for Congress. Six years later as chair of the Republican Study Committee he made a bid for House Minority Leader, but lost to future House Speaker John Boehner. In 2009, he became chair of the House Republican Conference.
Pence then passed on the opportunity to run for the U.S. Senate in 2010, and decided to pursue the Hoosier State’s governor’s mansion a couple of years later. He succeeded GOP Gov. Mitch Daniels and defeated Democratic challenger John Gregg in a closer-than-expected election. Gregg is running for governor again in 2016.
The governor flirted with a presidential bid n 2015, but ultimately decided to sit it out. When the hotly contested GOP primary came to the Hoosier state, Trump had Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich on the ropes. Pence offered a tepid—and short-lived—endorsement for Cruz. After Trump won Indiana and Cruz quit, Pence boarded the Trump train and has campaigned for the presumptive GOP nominee.
Honored to join @realDonaldTrump and work to make America great again. https://t.co/J8esm9LU6g
— Mike Pence (@mike_pence) July 15, 2016
Pence may not bring votes in crucial swing states in the same way other vice presidential picks could have done. Instead, he may function as a top attack dog for the presumptive GOP nominee, and showed his propensity to go on the offensive during a joint appearance with Trump earlier this week.
Indiana law marked Friday, July 15, as the last day for gubernatorial candidates to voluntarily withdraw from the ballot. Trump originally scheduled a press conference for Friday morning—before the Indiana deadline—to make the pick official, but postponed it due to a terrorist attack in France.
In an interview on Thursday evening on the Fox News channel, Trump said he had not made his “final, final decision.” But Pence’s motorcade was spotted leaving an airport headed for New York City on Thursday, stirring more speculation that the Hoosier State governor had already been tapped.
Pence was facing a tough re-election bid in the fall and Trump’s selection of him could have bailed him out. But the timing could also prove beneficial for Trump, who is looking to unite Republicans before the GOP convention.
The Indiana governor’s first task could become wrangling anti-Trump delegates and voters at the convention before the Trump-Pence duo set their sights square on November.
