To offset his own highly unconventional candidacy, Donald Trump has added a certifiably orthodox conservative to the Republican ticket by selecting Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate.
Before he was elected governor of Indiana, Pence served six terms in Congress where he was a major player in the conservative Republican Study Committee and eventually rose to become chairman of the House Republican Conference.
In the House, Pence was a rare Republican opponent of federal spending increases under George W. Bush. He voted against both the Medicare prescription-drug benefit and No Child Left Behind. He led the unsuccessful effort to get Hurricane Katrina relief spending offset by budget cuts elsewhere.
Prior to his election to Congress, Pence was a conservative radio talk show host. He often complained Republicans “lost their way” under Bush.
Pence did run afoul of conservatives with a 2006 compromise measure on immigration that was deemed impractical by comprehensive reformers and amnesty by enforcement-first conservatives. As governor, his similar attempts to take a middle ground on Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion and Common Core as well as his support and then abandonment of the state’s religious freedom law rankled the Right.
But Pence is a mainstream conservative Republican on a number of issues where Trump has broken decisively with the party. Pence is a free trader, a fiscally conservative advocate of entitlement reform, a supporter of the Iraq war and the surge. Trump opposes all of the above.
The Indiana governor also endorsed Ted Cruz ahead of the Hoosier State Republican primary, although he was respectful of Trump. He endorsed the businessman shortly after Cruz ended his campaign.
By tapping Pence, Trump is offering an olive branch of sorts to Cruz supporters. It gives a more established brand of Republicanism a place on the ticket similar to Ronald Reagan’s choice of George H.W. Bush in 1980.
Trump could also be sending a signal to social conservatives by picking a running mate from their ranks. It would guarantee an important place at the table for them in a Trump administration — the vice presidency — and it may also allay concerns about what kind of judges the reality TV star would appoint.
Conservative leaders praised the choice of Pence, including some who have serious misgivings about Trump himself. Asked about Pence’s opposition to the proposed Muslim ban, Trump said people aren’t going to agree on everything.
At 57, the white-haired Pence is significantly younger than Trump. But he doesn’t immediately put any states into play and Democrats can use familiar anti-conservative attack lines against him. Trump had reportedly wanted an attack dog of his own for a running mate, a role for which the avuncular Pence seems ill-suited.
But Trump also said it was important for him to mesh well with his vice presidential candidate. According to most reports, Trump was impressed with Pence in their personal meetings and liked him. During the vetting process, Pence came up clean. That could be an asset given the number of scandals and controversies in which Trump has been enmeshed.
The selection came as anti-Trump delegates were working on a last-ditch effort to deny the businessman the nomination through various rules changes. If enough of them are mollified by the inclusion of a conventional conservative Republican like Pence, it could further diminish the potential for an ugly floor fight this week in Cleveland.
Trump reportedly had as many as 10 people under consideration for vice president. Pence beat out former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions for the nod.
