GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- In Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, voters throughout the country have a "fighter, a builder and a winner," vice presidential nominee and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence told Michigan residents in a town hall Thursday.

Speaking to a crowd at DeltaPlex Arena in Grand Rapids, Pence countered themes of speakers at the 2016 Democratic National Convention that America is already great, noting that

Trump is instead "leveling with the American people" and is running on the issues that matter to the future of the country.

If voters want a leader who will rebuild the military, keep citizens safe, support law enforcement and cut back on unnecessary federal spending, Trump's the one, Pence said.

"If you're looking for a president who is going to squeeze every nickel out of a bloated federal bureaucracy, that man is Donald Trump," Pence said.

At the podium, Pence touted his experience as governor of Indiana, likening his efforts to decrease taxes and better the economy to what Republican governors have done in Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.

"We cut taxes every year that I've been governor - it all still works," Pence said. "That's exactly the kind of leadership that Trump is going to bring to DC."

Pence was critical of his Democratic counterpart Tim Kaine, who has served as governor and a federal lawmaker for the state of Virginia, and said unemployment almost doubled in his state under his tenure.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton "picked just the right person if she wants to keep America on the path of economic decline," Pence said.

"We're not going to let them," he continued.

Pence also stressed the importance of having a Republican president choose the next members of the U.S. Supreme Court, warning town hall attendees that if they wanted to protect the rule of law, Constitutional liberties such as the 2nd Amendment and the sanctity of life, they should ensure Clinton is not given the chance to select new justices.

When asked by an audience member about how Trump and Pence would deal with the issue of abortion, Pence said he "couldn't be more proud to be standing shoulder to shoulder with the next pro life president of the USA."

With more conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices, "I believe we'll see Roe v. Wade consigned to the ash heap of history where it belongs," Pence said.

Prior to Pence's Grand Rapids speech, former Congressman Pete Hoekstra, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, Michigan Republican Party Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel and state Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker, R-Lawton, gave their own stump speeches for their fellow Midwest lawmaker while also taking shots at the Democratic ticket.

Calley referred to Pence as the type of person who has a "north star" that remains centered on his Christian, conservative and Republican values.

Romney McDaniel told attendees that the difference between former Gov. Jennifer Granholm's leadership and the leadership of Republicans in Michigan since is a good indicator of the differences between what Trump and Clinton would do as president.

"We experienced first hand what Republican leadership can do - it's so important to our future and to the Midwest," Romney McDaniel said. "That's why we have to put a Republican in the White House."

In advance of Pence's Michigan stops, Michigan Democrats slammed Pence on his record of opposing Planned Parenthood, anti-abortion policies and hesitancy to promote equal pay.

"Mike Pence doesn't speak for Michigan women," Michigan Democratic Party Chief Operating Officer Lavora Barnes said in a statement that also referred to the Trump/Pence ticket as "the most anti-woman presidential ticket in our nation's history."

"Mike Pence and his boss, Donald Trump, are going to find out soon that their dangerous ideas and backward beliefs aren't welcome here in Michigan, and it will be the women of this state that deliver that message loud and clear," Barnes continued.