Presumptive Republican nominee Donald J. Trump (R) announced early Friday morning via Twitter he selected Governor Mike Pence as his Vice-Presidential running mate.

I am pleased to announce that I have chosen Governor Mike Pence as my Vice Presidential running mate. News conference tomorrow at 11:00 A.M.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 15, 2016

Why Governor Pence?

Why did Donald J. Trump select Governor Mike Pence as his running mate? Only one man knows the complete answer and that man is Mr. Trump. However, we can speculate as to why he chose Governor Pence over other vetted choices, such as former Speaker Newt Gingrich and Governor Chris Christie.

Sources close to the Trump campaign have revealed the selection came down to the final minutes. Trump chose Governor Pence to unify the Republican Party. Establishment Republicans have spoken highly of Governor Pence, and Trump needs this sector of Republicans on his side in order to win in November. I feel as though this choice is reflective of the Trump Family more so than Mr.Trump alone. In particular, Trump’s daughter Ivanka has played a major role in this selection process as her father respects her opinion and often seeks her advice on major decisions. Days before the selection was made, Trump’s family met with Governor Pence’s family at the Governor’s Mansion in Indianapolis.

Who is Governor Pence?

Governor Mike Pence has defined himself as “a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order.”

Michael Richard Pence was born in Columbus, Indiana on June 7, 1959. He was born into a family of Irish Catholic Democrats who ran a string of gas stations. Pence graduated from Columbus North High School in 1977. He earned a B.A. in history from Hanover College in 1981 and a J.D. from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 1986.

Following law school he began working as an attorney. He had two unsuccessful runs for Congress in 1988 and 1990. It wasn’t until 2000 that Pence made his way into politics. He was a member of the the U.S. House of Representatives for Indiana's 2nd Congressional District (renumbered 6th District in 2002) for 12 years. While in Congress Pence had leadership positions including the Republican Conference Chairman, the third-highest-ranking Republican leadership position and the Chairman of the Republican Study Committee. He belonged to the Tea Party Caucus while in U.S. House of Representatives. His Committee assignments in the U.S. House of Representatives included Foreign Affairs, Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia, as well as the Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet.

Following his Congress reign, he ran for Governor of Indiana and in 2012, Pence became the 50th Governor of Indiana. He has championed fiscal responsibility, smaller government and economic growth as Governor of Indiana. Some of his achievements as governor include achieving the largest state tax cut in history, expanding school choice, making career and technical education a priority in every Indiana high school, and investing more than $800 million in new money for roads and bridges throughout the state.

Pence will bring key political experience to the Republican ticket because of his tenure in Congress and his role as Governor of Indiana. These reasons make him appealing to outsiders like Donald Trump. We must not forget Mr. Trump was not a politician until a little over a year ago. He has said he wanted to choose a VP with Washington insight; Pence fits the bill.

The Republican Party’s thoughts?

Party leaders seemed to be pleased with Donald Trump's choice for Vice-President.

Gov. Pence and I have been friends for many years. He'll bring real conservative change to Washington.
— Paul Ryan (@PRyan)

.@GovPenceIN is a great conservative with broad experience. I look forward to campaigning with him in IA as our Republican VP candidate!
— Joni Ernst (@joniernst)

Donald Trump’s choice of Governor Mike Pence is a strong addition to this ticket
— Reince Priebus (@Reince)