Trump VP Pick Mike Pence's Indiana Record Shows Preference for Social Issues Over Business
Editors' pick: Originally published July 15.
For a businessman, Donald Trump hasn't exactly picked the most business-friendly candidate as his vice president.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee revealed on Twitter (TWTR) - Get Report Friday that he has selected Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate. He had originally planned to make the announcement at a news conference in New York but postponed the event in the wake of the truck attack in Nice.
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Pence is a safe pick for Trump, who was said to also be considering former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie as potential running mates. The former congressman, one of the earliest supporters of the Tea Party movement, will likely please conservatives. But as for the business community, it's a mixed bag, considering his record in Indiana.
"He is a social conservative first and foremost," said John Krull, director of the Pulliam School of Journalism at Franklin College and executive editor of The Statehouse File. He has said as much about himself. "The business wing of the Indiana Republican Party had some doubts about him when he first ran for governor, and over his time in office, those doubts have hardened into concerns."
Pence, who has served as governor of Indiana since 2013, has in the eyes of many in the business community been overly preoccupied with social issues during his tenure instead of focusing on bringing in new investment and making it easier to attract good workers to Indiana.
He supported an amendment to Indiana's constitution that would have banned same-sex marriage and signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which many viewed as discriminatory against the LGBT community. The maneuvers alienated the business community in Indiana and nationwide.
A group of nine CEOs, including Bill Oesterle of Angie's List (ANGI) - Get Report , John Lechleiter of Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) - Get Report and Scott McCorkle of Salesforce Marketing iCloud (CRM) - Get Report penned a letter to Pence and the Indiana legislature calling on them to reform the act to stop it from being used to "justify discrimination based upon sexual orientation or gender identity." Angie's List cancelled its expansion plans in the state. Salesforce called off company events in the state and has subsequently used its expansion there to push for LGBT rights. By one estimate, the law lost the city of Indianapolis alone $60 million in business.
Pence eventually signed changes to the law to bar discrimination, but the business community still isn't sold on him.
Oesterle stepped down as CEO of Angie's List, which is based in Indianapolis, to repair the "shellacking" he said Indiana's image took from the religious freedom legislation and before Pence was announced as Trump's VP pick was actively seeking a primary opponent to run against him. Many others in the business community have been reluctant to back him as well, believing that Pence, who hadn't paid them much heed in his first term when facing reelection, would probably pay them even less attention during his second, especially considering that the Indiana governorship is subject to term limits.
"One of the things a governor or president has to do is try to find a way to pull everybody back together, and he's not been particularly good at that," said Krull, adding that he believes Pence is more naturally a legislator than he is an executive.
Under Pence, Indiana has seen growth on the employment front -- an ad for his gubernatorial reelection bid touts the creation of 135,000 jobs during his four years in office. But Krull pointed out that claim comes with an asterisk: Many of the jobs added don't pay high wages.
"The state's median income has slipped fairly steadily in comparison with other states, and while we have record numbers of Hoosiers working right now, we're also recording record poverty rates. We're seeing the beginning of the hour-glass economy," he said.