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Indiana Gov. Mike Pence Top Contender For Trump VP

By Nick Younker
Published on: 11:03 PST, Jun 30, 2016

Indiana Governor Mike Pence has been recently hailed as the top contender for vice president on Donald Trump’s embattled GOP ticket. Although there is growing uncertainty within the Republican Party, all signs seem to point to Donald Trump staying as the GOP nominee in November.

So who exactly is Mike Pence and what has he done for the state of Indiana? Well, for starters, those who remember just a short time ago when Mike Pence signed a little bill for the state of Indiana, which was titled the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Pence allowed for his state representative to draft and pass a bill which would have ultimately led to the discrimination of any individual within the LGBT community from getting services from persons or companies based on their religious beliefs.

That bill is one of the main things that made Mike Pence a national name following its passage and subsequent outcry from the LGBT community and other civil liberties organizations around the country that said Pence signed something into law that infringes on their civil rights. The bill was later amended to say that no individual or organization would be allowed to discriminate for any reasons, which caught the ire of many conservative people in Indiana who saw that as a sign of weakness under duress.

But Mike Pence could still be considered a conservative champion among voters on the right who have cited his work in Indiana as a crusader for the cause. His consistent conservative actions have brought the state more notoriety than they care to endure, but nevertheless has positioned Pence himself as a leading contender for vice president in a GOP race for the presidency, according to NBC News.

Some might even say that Mike Pence and Donald Trump are a match made in heaven. One exercises his conservative actions in office and the other talks about it with extreme words that seem to rile up the urban GOP base.

But it would be a little premature to put the cart before the horse in this matter. Voters need to remember that Mike Pence is up for reelection this year in his own state of Indiana and he is running against Democratic nominee John Gregg.

Gregg also ran against Mike Pence in the 2012 race for the governor’s mansion, but lost to him by 3 percentage points. With such a close margin of victory in 2012, some might say that Mike Pence has his work cut out for him in Indiana if he should want to remain their governor. But it could also be said that if Pence cannot even hold the governor’s seat in Indiana, how would he fair alongside Donald Trump in the general election against Democratic heavyweight Hillary Clinton.

Just to put this in perspective, Donald Trump is already under fire from Hillary Clinton and the left-leaning Democrats for comments that he has made, some which have been considered misogynistic and racist, especially against immigrants from Mexico. Then, if you were to add Mike Pence to that ticket, the left would eat him alive for the Religious Freedom Restoration Act alone. If they would not spend all their time pouncing on his unconstitutional bill, then they would spend time on the other side of the aisle criticizing him for giving in under pressure and changing the bill, which conservatives are already upset about.

Although Mike Pence would likely take the opportunity to become the running mate on Donald Trump’s GOP ticket, he has not admitted to being vetted for the position to any media outlets at this time. As a matter of fact, Mike Pence told the press that they would have to talk to the Trump campaign to find out who they are vetting for the position.

[Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]

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