“Now that the primaries are over, it’s time to come together,” Gov. Mike Pence said. Mike Pence, urging party unity, endorses Donald Trump

Gov. Mike Pence endorsed Donald Trump on Saturday, calling on Hoosiers to make Indiana “the first state on the board” on Nov. 8.

Pence, whose remarks at the Indiana Republican Convention were reported by the Indianapolis Star, had backed Ted Cruz in the state’s GOP primary in April — though he praised Trump at the time in his notably tepid endorsement of the Texas senator.


"And I'm also particularly grateful that Donald Trump has taken a strong stand for Hoosier jobs when we saw jobs in the Carrier company abruptly announce leaving Indiana not for another state but for Mexico," Pence said in an April 29 radio interview . "I'm grateful for his voice in the national debate. Let me say, I've come to my decision about who I'm supporting and I'm not against anybody, but I will be voting for Ted Cruz in the upcoming Republican primary."

Trump's 17-point win in Indiana knocked Cruz out of the race, and he often mentions the victory during his stump speeches. He recorded a statement of his own for this weekend’s convention, describing the Hoosier State as his “firewall” in a video. Barack Obama carried Indiana narrowly in the 2008 presidential election, but lost it to Mitt Romney in 2012.

Trump also voiced confidence he would "end up in a big, beautiful victory in November."

Pence had distanced himself from Trump this week after the Manhattan billionaire went after the federal judge presiding over a pair of class-action lawsuits related to Trump University, his now-defunct real estate seminar venture. “Every American is entitled to a fair trial and an impartial judge, but of course I think those comments were inappropriate,” Pence said . “I don’t think it’s ever appropriate to question the partiality of the judge based on their ethnic background.”

But on Saturday, he urged Republicans to rally around the party's presumptive nominee.

“Now that the primaries are over, it’s time to come together,” Pence said. “It’s time to come together around the people who were the people’s choice."