Mike Pence’s Perfect Pick
“I don’t have to support both of them, just one of them.”
That was the quote given to me yesterday by a long-time Republican, when I asked him about Governor Mike Pence nominating former State Chairman Eric Holcomb to be the next Lt. Governor, replacing Sue Ellspermann.
And that quote sums up why Holcomb makes sense.
Many times Republican Governors need to pick running mates to shore up their conservative credentials, for Pence, this is just the opposite. Since RFRA, Pence’s favorability amongst those moderate/business Republicans has not been all that great and many of them live in the doughnut counties which he needs to win big if he wants to get re-elected in November.
And it’s not just RFRA. Holcomb understands how state government works from his days with Mitch Daniels. He was running a statewide race prior to getting the call from the Governor. He could also get relatively easy confirmation from the Indiana General Assembly from his days with being a former party Chairman. And there would not be a need for a special session, which the Governor and Speaker are adamant about not happening.
Also, he is from the same part of the state as John Gregg, which doesn’t hurt either.
And with respect to possible conflicts between Pence and Holcomb, I can assure you before Holcomb decided to take the job there was a lot of talk about how those issues would be handled and if you don’t think Holcomb won’t give Pence very frank, candid advice, which sometimes the Governor might not want to hear, you are wrong.
Holcomb is a smart pick and if Pence’s re-election was ever in jeopardy, his chances for winning just got a whole lot better.
