INDIANAPOLIS -- Governor Mike Pence could be just what Donald Trump needs to get more Republican support behind his candidacy and to win in November.
"He is someone who checks virtually all the boxes that conservatives might be interested in. A former member of House leadership, a governor of an important - potentially battleground - state, and someone who has walked the walk and talked the talk with social conservatives. A true member of their community,” said ABC News Political Director, Rick Kline.
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RTV6’s political insiders say Pence may help sway the votes of more social conservatives, or at least increase their excitement in Trump’s candidacy.
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They also say Pence’s time as a congressman and governor would bring to the ticket experience that Trump lacks.
Our political insiders talked about Pence as VP on Facebook Live Wednesday. Watch that discussion below:
Republican consultant and columnist Matt Mackowiak says Pence is the smartest political choice that Trump could make.
Mackowiak says Pence’s experience in Washington means he can go to the Hill and get Trump’s agenda passed. He’s also governor of a state that Trump wants to win.
"Pence is a good communicator -- he's a strong conservative, a three-legged stool conservative as he often says, so he's the kind of choice that's a bridge to the right wing that might have supported Cruz in the primary but hasn't supported Trump to this point," said Mackowiak.
6 reasons why Pence would help Trump ticket
- May help sway social conservatives
- Former member of House leadership
- Governor of potential battleground state
- Knows international affairs
- Plugged in to many wealthy GOP donors
- Good communicator
Roll Call says Mike Pence checks off almost all of the requirements Trump says he is looking for in a vice president.
Pence also makes up for some of Trump’s weaknesses, according to Roll Call’s David Hawkings. He’s plugged in to many wealthy GOP donors and knows international affairs.
"His credentials in the eyes of grassroots conservative and evangelicals approach the unimpeachable, whereas the tea party-types and the religious right continue to view Trump with considerable suspicion. His mantra at the Capitol was that he was 'a Christian, a conservative and a Republican - in that order.'"
An Op-Ed in the Los Angeles Times says Pence isn’t a counterbalance to Trump, but rather his 'perfect yes man.’
Craig Fehrman, who is from Indiana, says ‘yes man’ was the last thing you’d call Pence when he served in Congress. Fehrman says that all changed when Pence was elected governor in 2012.
TIMELINE | The governorship of Mike Pence
"Instead, we got someone more interested in protecting his own presidential ambitions than in articulating and pursuing a consistent statewide vision. We got a governor whose administration veers between the cautious and catastrophic," said Fehrman.
Fehrman says Pence's motives make him an ideal partner for Trump, "He'll do what he's told, even if it contradicts his actual beliefs, just so long as it's good for the career of Mike Pence.”
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