Mike Pence (age 57) was not a well-known man, outside of Indiana, previous to Donald Trump selecting him for his vice presidential running mate. In 2012, Pence was elected as the 50th Governor of the State of Indiana. He is a strong supporter of finding success through economic development, fiscal responsibility and equal education opportunity.
As Governor of Indiana, Pence has added several achievements to his resume. Since taking office, he has achieved the largest state tax cut in Indiana's history. This means that there was a decrease in the real income of the government and an increase in the real income of the state taxpayers. The long term effects, macro-economically, however, are not predictable due to the dependence on how taxpayers use their additional income and how the government adjusts to its reduced income. In addition to the largest tax cut in Indiana history, Pence also lowered business personal property tax and corporate income tax. This was done to strengthen competitive investments for Indiana workers.
Along with reducing state taxes, Pence created a budget that "maintains strong reserves for the State and continues to generate a surplus." By sticking to a strict budget, Indiana holds an AAA credit rating. An AAA credit rating is the highest credit rating one can receive. It means that an obligor has an extremely strong capacity to meet the financial commitments it makes. The state employee work force that Pence regulates has about 28,000 employees and a state budget of $30.6 billion.
Pence made it a point to expand equal education for all Indiana families by making a law that the state must provide funding for pre-K education. He also recognized that Indiana had a gap in work skills compared to other states. To fix this skills gap, Pence created programs to make career and technical education a priority in every high school across the state of Indiana.
On July 15 of this year, Donald Trump announced that his VP running mate would be Mike Pence. Sources say that Trump struggled to make the decision between Mike Pence and Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey. Trump's advisers recommended that Trump should find a man who would unite the Republican Party, not one who would agree with everything Trump had to offer.
Mike Pence was not originally a Republican. He started out as a Catholic Democrat. When Pence was in college, a fraternity brother of his shared God's Word with Pence. He told Pence that he had to wear the cross in his heart before he could bear it around his neck. Shortly after, Pence gave his life to Jesus Christ. He told reporters that "redefined" everything Pence stood for.
Pence was picked due to his conservative credentials, Christian beliefs and kind nature towards his relationships in Washington D.C. He is seen as a dependable politician who will speak his mind. Just this past December, Pence posted on Twitter that Trump's proposal to stop Muslims from entering the U.S. was "offensive and unconstitutional." Pence also has expressed firm views on current societal problems. He is an advocate for de-funding Planned Parenthood and believes that abortion rights should be restricted.
Although Mike Pence holds views that are against those of Donald Trump, Trump's decision to partner with Pence will aid in bringing together all spectrums of the the Republican Party. Pence has the credentials to be a vice president who will challenge Trump in the decisions he pursues along the rest of the presidential race and, potentially, into the Oval Office.
