Chris Sikich

chris.sikich@indystar.com

Since his early days in politics, Mike Pence has repeatedly described himself as "a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order."

As he enters the national spotlight as Donald Trump's running mate, Pence will bring a record as a congressman and governor that reflects that conviction. While he has more recently championed tax cuts and limited spending, he long has fought fiercely for religious rights, pro-life legislation and to define marriage as between a man and a woman.

In 12 years as a congressman representing Indiana, he was most known for his willingness to tackle social issues. Staunchly pro-life, he famously said he was willing to shut down the federal government in 2011 to defund Planned Parenthood, which conducts abortions among its health care services for women.

But when he ran for governor a year later, he put together a campaign that was surprising to many political insiders for its lack of focus on social issues. Recognizing Hoosiers were interested in solutions to a slow economy, his platform focused on growing jobs and cutting taxes with no mention of social issues.

After more than a year of criss-crossing the state in a red pickup truck, he left many voters wondering which Mike Pence they would get in office: the man who would spur job growth or the one with a long record of believing abortion and same-sex marriage should be illegal.

Pence, at the time, told IndyStar the answer is both. His said support of what he termed traditional values is well-known and would continue if Indiana lawmakers tried to tackle social issues. But Pence maintained social issues were not a part of his Roadmap for Indiana, the title he used for his plan to govern the state.

And since winning a narrow victory over Democrat John Gregg four years ago, Pence has supported legislation and programs to boost the economy such as tax cuts, development incentives and vocational training.

But the governor did not shy from embracing often divisive social issues. The national spotlight shined most intensely on Pence and Indiana after he signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 2015. After the Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, evangelical lobbyists had pushed the governor and Republican lawmakers to approve RFRA as a means to allow business owners to deny services to gay, lesbian and transgender Hoosiers for religious reasons.

Pence received intense national and local bipartisan blow-back after signing that bill as many worried it legalized discrimination. Businesses threatened to leave. Conventions canceled plans to visit Indianapolis. Protesters marched. Social moderates and businessmen and women in his own party demanded the governor walk back the bill.

As pressure mounted, Pence signed a "fix" to the bill that allowed local governments to add civil rights protections for the LGBT community.

Many political observers think the fallout from that bill and from a law he signed this year that further restricted abortion has left him vulnerable for re-election as governor. Some Republican insiders tried to find a candidate to take on Pence in the primary, a startling effort against a sitting governor, though the challenge never materialized.

This year, polling has consistently shown a tight race in a rematch with Gregg, a former speaker of the Indiana House.

Many political watchers, even some from his own party, wonder whether Pence went too far to the right on social issues even for deeply Republican Indiana. Whether he strayed too far from the so-called Mitch Daniels' wing of the party, social moderates who embrace pro-business policies, to win over a majority of Hoosiers.

But Pence's faith has shaped his politics. And he has made clear in years of public office, he will stand up for those values.

Constitution and Bible

In many ways, Pence is an unlikely politician. He was raised in a Catholic family in Columbus, Ind. His parents didn't talk politics over the dinner table. His father was an oil distributor who ran a number of gas stations.

Church took a central role. Edward and Nancy Pence had their six children don their Sunday best for Mass, including suits for Mike and his three brothers, who also served as altar boys.

But as a young man growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, Pence began to appreciate the transformative efforts of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. He volunteered for the Bartholomew County Democratic Party in 1976 and voted for Jimmy Carter in 1980.

Like many young adults, Pence's views began to change during and just after college. He met his future wife, Karen, at a church in Indianapolis after he graduated from Hanover College. He later became a born-again Christian. Both remain deeply religious.

"I would say that my Christian faith and my relationship with Karen are the two most dominant influences in my life today," Pence told IndyStar in 2012.

Pence traces his views back to two historical documents: the Constitution and the Bible.

The first has shaped his passionate belief in limited government. The second has forged his strong beliefs on abortion and marriage.

He was a history major at Hanover College and identified with the principles of the founding fathers. And politically, he began listening to an actor-turned-politician.

"I started to identify with that kind of common-sense conservatism of Ronald Reagan," Pence said in 2012, "and before I knew it, I decided I was a Republican and moved up here in Indianapolis in 1983 to go to law school."

Law school pal Bill Stephan, now an administrator at Indiana University, said Pence grew more serious about his faith as a young adult, and that is reflected in many of his political choices.

"I think he will tell you very openly he made a commitment to Christ as a young adult," Stephan said in 2012. "I think he's pretty serious about his prayer life, and his actions and deeds reflect his faith. That's part of what motivates him to public service."

Living in Indianapolis, Pence became a precinct committeeman for the Marion County Republican Party. Ambitious, he took a leap from that low-level party position, winning the Republican primaries in 1988 and 1990, to run against U.S. Rep. Phil Sharp, the 2nd District incumbent.

Pence lost both campaigns. But in defeat, he found a defining moment.

He had gone negative — big-time. In a commercial described at the time as the most negative in Indiana history, an actor dressed as a sheik thanked Sharp for the U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

Pence spent $1 million on negative ads in those two campaigns.

After losing, he denounced his actions in a 1991 essay titled "Confessions of a Negative Campaigner."

Brian Vargus, a longtime political science professor, said Pence's faith in Christ began to be more pronounced at that time. Pence, Vargus said, saw the campaign as un-Christianlike behavior.

"He vowed he would never run a negative campaign again," Vargus said in 2012. "And if you look, he has not."

Pence also recognized a poor strategy.

"I think negative personal attacks have no place in elective politics," Pence said in 2012. "I just think, as I wrote back in 1991, that negative campaigning I now know is wrong. It's wrong to use one's brief moment in a political debate to talk about what's wrong with your opponent, as opposed to what's right with your ideas."

Building skills

After losing two elections, Pence gave up on political office — if not politics — for a decade.

His views continued to take shape, though, as he led Indiana Policy Review Foundation, a Fort Wayne-based conservative think tank, in the early 1990s. He also hosted TV and radio political talk shows, learning communication skills and honing a clean-cut, affable persona.

Political enemies and opponents alike say Pence is one of the nicest guys they know. Even Gregg has said he'd serve as a character witness for the governor, if necessary.

A frequent guest on Pence's past radio and TV shows, Vargus says Pence was more Joe Scarborough than Rush Limbaugh. With charm and wit, Pence won people over. He also listened to those with whom he disagreed.

"You would normally get both sides," Vargus said in 2012. "He'd tend to be more Republican than Democrat, but you'd get both sides."

Pence's political aspirations were revived when Republican U.S. Rep. David McIntosh, who had replaced Sharp upon Sharp's retirement, decided to run for governor in 2000.

McIntosh and Pence had become fast friends. They shared political views, their strong Christian faith and a rural Hoosier upbringing. McIntosh, believing Pence would carry his socially and fiscally conservative mantle, asked Pence to run for his seat.

"Both of us have a strong faith that informs what we believe is the right thing to do in government," McIntosh said in 2012. "Both of us are students of the Constitution and limited government."

Pence's name recognition had grown, thanks to his TV and radio work. He won the first of six straight elections in 2000.

His record in Congress

Pence's strong social convictions gained him the most attention in Congress.

In addition to fighting abortion, he opposes embryonic stem cell research, thinks marriage should be between one man and one woman and supported "don't ask, don't tell," the now dissolved government policy of banning openly gay and lesbian people from serving in the military.

Pence also was willing to take on his own party establishment.

As a freshman in 2001, he opposed the No Child Left Behind policy supported by President George W. Bush. That law seeks to raise student performance and increase accountability for educators. Pence calls it an unfunded mandate that grew government.

His opposition was noted, but the law passed overwhelmingly with bipartisan support. During Pence's second year in office, he opposed another GOP-favored initiative: the Medicare prescription drug expansion.

That stand drew more attention from his party. After one closed-door meeting with his GOP peers, Pence famously told reporters that he had woken up in the Democratic Party.

Pence lost that battle, too, but his willingness to buck his own party helped vault him to prominence among the most conservative in Congress. It also laid the foundation for a strong tea party backing.

Pence was a leader in the Republican Study Committee, a group of socially and fiscally conservative House Republicans who push for non-defense spending cuts.

Pence continued to stand up to his own party, persuading Republicans to cut spending in the federal budget before approving money for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in 2005. He also opposed the bailout in 2008, leading to Congress abandoning a plan to buy financial institutions' most toxic assets.

Pence's attempt to defund Planned Parenthood came in a fight over whether to raise the debt ceiling in 2011. Pence and other Republicans ultimately backed down from that stance, though their opposition led to a compromise that raised the debt ceiling in exchange for spending cuts.

Pence is a throwback to the Republican revolution of the 1990s, said former Arizona Rep. John B. Shadegg. Shadegg was among 54 Republican House members and eight senators who were elected in 1994 and worked with President Bill Clinton to balance the federal budget and reduce the national debt.

But by 2001, Shadegg said, the tone of congressional Republicans was changing.

"Like a lot of us, he saw we were spending money we didn't have," Shadegg said in 2012.

"In Washington, they would like you to stand up and salute when they tell you to. There were some of us, and Mike was one of them, who at times was not willing to stand up and salute when they told you to. He thought for himself."

Shadegg said there is no question, though, that Pence was a leader on social issues.

Pence readily admits he does not think the government should fund Planned Parenthood so long as that organization provides abortions. Those strong anti-abortion values grew from his Catholic roots, he says, and his later dedication to Christ as a born-again Christian.

He's not opposed to women's health services, he says, just abortions.

"I don't think we have to make a choice between respecting the values of taxpayers and providing resources for women's health," he said. "We can do both of these at the same time."

He also opposed President Barack Obama's decision to end the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Allowing openly gay and lesbian people to serve in the military, Pence said, adds an undue amount of complication to already tense situations. He says that's a military concern, but he's open about his support of traditional values. He also opposed the president's belief that gay marriage should be legal.

"I do think my upbringing and my experiences and my faith's traditions," Pence said in 2012, "all have contributed to my strong belief that marriage is between one man and one woman."

His record as governor

Pence won the race for governor by a narrower than expected margin, 49.6 percent to 46.4 percent.

His start as governor was rocky. He had championed a 10 percent individual income tax cut during his campaign but quickly found that state lawmakers, even those from his own party, have their own agendas.

Republicans who controlled both branches of the legislature had their own ideas about how to cut taxes. They argued that business tax cuts, and cuts primarily benefiting the wealthy, would be more effective in boosting the economy.

After months of political wrangling in their own party, Republicans gave Pence half of what he wanted, agreeing to a 5 percent income tax cut in the state's two-year roughly $30 billion budget. But the General Assembly crafted a $1.1 billion give-back that also included corporate, inheritance and financial institution taxes, the largest cut in the state's history.

The next year, Pence and the legislature further cut business equipment taxes and corporate income taxes.

By 2016, Pence and the legislature were guiding a state with a $2 billion budget surplus and a sterling triple A credit rating. Democrats, though, have argued the surplus has come at the expense of services, saying money is needed for roads, child services and health.

They have pointed out the State Department of Health has grappled with an HIV epidemic in Southern Indiana and the Department of Child Services was sued for assigning high case loads to social workers.

And this year, Republicans in the House tried to raise cigarette and gas taxes to pay for much-needed roadwork, which Democrats argue disproportionately impacts the working class. Pence stayed true to his anti-tax convictions and opposed that hike, and it's currently being studied in a committee.

Pence's most trying time as governor, though, came in March and April 2015.

Pence signed the RFRA bill on March 26, 2015, in a private ceremony that included evangelical supporters. In the following days, the national spotlight was fixed on Indiana.

Threats from major businesses and conventions to yank commerce from Indiana spurred Republicans to reconsider the law.

By the middle of the week, AFSCME canceled an Indianapolis convention scheduled for October, and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) had tentatively canceled their plans. And then-Angie's List CEO Bill Oesterle blamed the religious freedom law for his decision to put the company's $40 million Indianapolis expansion on hold.

Throughout the week, national celebrities and politicians piled on. Pence was lampooned extensively by late-night hosts after a disastrous appearance on ABC's "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos.

On April 2, Pence signed a "fix" to the bill that exempted local communities that had protections for sexual orientation and gender identity.

The discussion in Indiana has since shifted to whether the state should protect gender identity and sexual discrimination as a protected class. Pence opposes that, at this point, questioning whether that status can co-exist with religious freedom.

Many political watchers think the fervor over RFRA sunk any hopes Pence may have harbored for a run for presidency this year. The damage also raised concerns among some about his ability to hold the governor's office for Republicans.

The fallout for the governor worsened this year after he signed a bill further restricting abortions. A Facebook group with more than 40,000 members prompted women to protest the law by calling in to the governor's office to give status updates on menstrual cycles in an effort called "Periods for Pence."

The bill, which prohibits abortions in cases of fetal defects, is being challenged in court.

In Indiana this year, polls have tightened to a nearly dead heat between Pence and Gregg. While the governor continues to have strong support from social conservatives and tea party activists, "Pence must go" signs line yards even in conservative-leaning counties.

The race for governor promised to be close this year. Pence's campaign has focused again on the economy. He says he's added jobs, kept the state budget balanced, reduced state debt, maintained reserves and cut taxes.

Gregg, though, has been running against Pence's record on social issues. Only time would have told whether Gregg's strategy would have defeated Pence in Indiana, but the time on Pence's gubernatorial campaign ran out.

Now, Pence's focus will shift to a national stage. To a new chapter in his political journey. What that will bring is uncertain at this point. But if the past 16 years in public office have shown anything, it's that Pence will continue to be guided by his faith.

Star archives contributed to this story. Call IndyStar reporter Chris Sikich at (317) 444-6036. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisSikich and at Facebook/chris.sikich.

1959

June 7: Michael Richard Pence is born in Columbus, one of six children of Nancy and Edward Pence. His father was an Army veteran and operated several gas stations. His grandfather, Richard Michael Cawley, was a Chicago bus driver who immigrated to the United States from Ireland through Ellis Island on April 11, 1923.

1977

Graduates from Columbus North High School.

1981

Graduates from Hanover College.

1985

June 8: Marries his wife, Karen, whom he met while she was playing guitar at a church in Indianapolis. They have three children: Michael, Charlotte and Audrey. Karen was an elementary school art teacher until he was elected governor.

1986

Graduates with a law degree from the Indiana University McKinney School of Law.

1988

Loses in the 2nd Congressional District to Democratic incumbent Phil Sharp. He would lose again in 1990.

1991

Named president of the Indiana Policy Review Foundation, a conservative think thank based in Fort Wayne. He would serve until 1993.

1993

Produced a statewide radio show, which was syndicated in 1994. "The Mike Pence Show" aired on 18 radio stations through September 1999. Pence also hosted a morning TV show in Indianapolis from 1995 to 1999.

2000

Wins the 2nd Congressional District, which later becomes the 6th District. He wins five more times by comfortable margins. He has not received less than 60 percent since his first victory in 2000.

2005

January: Elected head of the Republican Study Committee, an influential caucus of social and fiscal conservatives in the House. He serves through 2007.

December: The conservative publication Human Events names him "man of the year" for fighting for "principles of lower taxes, limited government, a strong defense and a fierce dedication to moral authority — including preserving the rights of the unborn."

2006

Pence seeks the position of minority leader in the House. Despite the backing of several conservative organizations, he loses to Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, 168-27-1.

2008

Pence is unanimously elected Republican Conference chairman, the third-highest-ranking Republican leadership position.

2011

Pence officially announces his candidacy for governor in May, calling it "the worst-kept secret in Indiana."

2012

Pence is elected governor with 49.6 percent of the vote. Democrat John Gregg finishes second with to 46.4 percent.

2013.

May 8: Pence signs the largest tax cut in Indiana history, a $1.1 billion give-back.

2015

March 26: Pence signs the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which allows businesses to deny services to the LGBT community based on religious reasons.

April 2: After receiving intense national scrutiny, Pence signs a bill that walks back RFRA. The new bill allows local governments to add protections for the LGBT community.

June 18: Pence announces he will seek a second term as governor.

Sources: Star archives, Pence campaign

Pence is Trump's VP pick