Mike Pence

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Mike Pence
Mike Pence.jpg
Governor of Indiana
Incumbent
In office
January 14, 2013 - Present
Term ends
2017
PartyRepublican
Compensation
Base salary$107,881
Elections and appointments
Last electionNovember 6, 2012
First electedNovember 6, 2012
Next electionNovember 8, 2016
Term limitsN/A
Prior offices
U.S. House of Representatives, Indiana, District 6
2001-2013
Education
High schoolColumbus North High School
Bachelor'sHanover College (1981)
J.D.Indiana University School of Law (1986)
Personal
BirthdayJune 7, 1959
Place of birthColumbus, Indiana
ProfessionAttorney, Talk Show Host
ReligionEvangelical Christian
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

Contents

Michael Richard "Mike" Pence (b. June 7, 1959) is the 50th and current Governor of Indiana. He has served in this position since January 14, 2013.

Pence was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001-2013. Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Pence was a "far-right Republican leader".[1]

Biography

Pence was born in Columbus, Indiana, graduated from Hanover College in 1981 and earned his J.D. from Indiana University School of Law in 1986.[2]

After graduating from Hanover, Pence worked as an admissions counselor at the college until 1983. He then went to law school and worked as a private practice attorney from 1986 to 1990. From 1991 to 1994 he served as President of the Indiana Policy Review Foundation and was a talk show host on Network Indiana from 1994 to 2000.[3]

  • Prior to 2001:
    • President, Indiana Policy Review Foundation[2]
    • Host, "The Mike Pence Show" [2]

Political career

Indiana Governor (2013-Present)

Pence has served as governor of Indiana since January 14, 2013.[4]

Tax reform

Pence has made tax reform, namely a 10 percent income-tax rate cut, a priority for 2013.[5]

U.S. House of Representatives (2001-2013)

Committee Assignments

2011-2012

Issues

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

No Vote Pence voted against the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was one of 151 Republicans that voted against the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.[6]

Elections

2012

See also: Indiana gubernatorial election, 2012

Pence won election as Governor of Indiana in 2012.[7] He was slated to face Fishers businessman Jim Wallace in the May 8, 2012 Republican primary election, but Wallace was removed from the ballot by the Indiana Election Commission on February 24, 2012[8][9] for failing to receive the requisite 500 signatures per congressional district. Thus, Pence was unopposed in the partisan primary, and defeated former House Speaker John Gregg (D), Rupert Boneham (L) and write-in candidate Donnie Harold Harris in the general election on November 6, 2012.

Governor/Lieutenant Governor of Indiana General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic John Gregg / Vi Simpson 46.6% 1,200,016
     Republican Green check mark.jpgMike Pence / Sue Ellspermann 49.5% 1,275,424
     Libertarian Rupert Boneham / Brad Klopfenstein 4% 101,868
     Independent Donnie Harold Harris / George Fish 0% 21
Total Votes 2,577,329
Election Results via Indiana Secretary of State.


Governor of Indiana Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark.jpgMike Pence 100% 554,412
Total Votes 554,412
Election Results Via: Indiana Secretary of State


Issue positions

  • Economic development:

In terms of economic development, Pence said he would seek to make the system more proactive. "We would identify personnel in the IEDC with essentially an investment background that we would recruit and say, 'We want you to go to each community in this state and evaluate the assets on the ground. And we want you to meet with business leaders,'" he stated.[10]

  • Health Insurance:

In a letter to Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) in August 2012, Pence said that if elected governor he would not set up a health insurance exchange in Indiana, leaving the job to the federal government instead. “I believe Indiana should take no part in this deeply flawed health care bureaucracy,” he stated.[11]

  • Jobs:

The major issue of the 2012 campaign was jobs, with each candidate detailing their plan to get citizens back to work. Pence said he would create a "jobs Cabinet" made up of business leaders and investment specialists that would support startup businesses.[12]

Endorsements

Pence's endorsements included:

  • Indiana National Federation of Independent Business[13]

2010

On November 2, 2010, Pence won re-election to the United States House of Representatives. He defeated Barry Welsh (D) and Talmage "T.J" Thompson, Jr. (L) in the general election.[14]

U.S. House of Representatives, Indiana's 6th Congressional District, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark.jpgMike Pence Incumbent 66.6% 126,027
     Democratic Barry Welsh 29.9% 56,647
     Libertarian Talmage "T.J" Thompson, Jr. 3.5% 6,635
Total Votes 189,309

Campaign donors

2010

Breakdown of the source of Pence's campaign funds before the 2010 election.

Pence won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010. During that re-election cycle, Pence's campaign committee raised a total of $2,684,316 and spent $2,654,178 .[15]

Analysis

Congressional Staff Salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Pence paid his congressional staff a total of $1,122,773 in 2011. He ranked 9th on the list of the highest paid Republican Representative Staff Salaries and he ranked 49th overall of the highest paid Representative Staff Salaries in 2011. Overall, Indiana ranked 35th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[16]

Net worth

See also: Net Worth of United States Senators and Representatives

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Pence's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $11,015 and $169,000. That averages to $90,007.50, which was lower than the average net worth of Republican Representatives in 2010 of $7,561,133.[17]

National Journal vote ratings

2011

See also: National Journal vote ratings

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Pence ranked 19th in the conservative rankings.[18]

Political Positions

Percentage voting with party

The website Open Congress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, Mike Pence voted with the Republican Party 94 of the time, which ranked 74 among the 242 House Republican members in November 2011.[19]

Controversies

Obamacare and 9/11

During a June 2012 GOP House meeting, Pence was reported to have compared the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on "Obamacare" to the terrorist attacks of September 11. Pence immediately apologized, stating, "My remarks at the Republican Conference following the Supreme Court decision were thoughtless. I certainly did not intend to minimize any tragedy our nation has faced and I apologize."[20]

Personal

Pence and his wife Karen have been married for 26 years, live in Columbus, Indiana, and reside in the greater Washington, D.C. area when Congress is in session. They have three children, Michael, Charlotte and Audrey.[2]

External links

References

  1. ↑ Gov Track "Pence" Accessed May 23, 2012
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Congressman Mike Pence "Biography" Accessed November 5, 2011
  3. ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Representative Mike Pence's Biography," accessed November 2, 2012
  4. ↑ NWI Politics, "Republican Mike Pence sworn-in as Indiana governor," January 14, 2013
  5. ↑ Wall Street Journal, "The State Tax Reformers," January 29, 2013
  6. ↑ U.S. House "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.
  7. ↑ Reuters "Congressman Mike Pence to run for Indiana governor," June 11, 2011
  8. ↑ Courier Journal, "Indiana election panel strikes GOP gubernatorial hopeful Jim Wallace from ballot," February 25, 2012
  9. ↑ Indy Star, "GOP gubernatorial candidate Jim Wallace removed from Indiana primary ballot, leaving Mike Pence unopposed," February 25, 2012
  10. ↑ South Bend Tribune, "Governors race ready to ramp up," May 13, 2012
  11. ↑ Evansville Courier & Press, "Pence says he would decline to set up state-level health insurance exchange," August 21, 2012
  12. ↑ The Herald Bulletin, "Ind. governor hopefuls detail jobs ideas for race," May 13, 2012
  13. ↑ Mike Pence, "Pence Campaign Announces Endorsement by Indiana NFIB," August 22, 2012
  14. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
  15. ↑ Open Secrets "Mike Pence 2010 Election Cycle," Accessed November 5, 2011
  16. ↑ LegiStorm "Mike Pence"
  17. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Pence, (R-Indiana), 2010"
  18. ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," February 23, 2012
  19. ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party"
  20. ↑ Politico, "Pence likens health care ruling to 9/11," June 28, 2012
Political offices
Preceded by
Mitch Daniels (R) 		Indiana Governor
January 14, 2013-Present 		Succeeded by
NA
Preceded by
David McIntosh 		U.S. House of Representatives - Indiana District 6
2001–2013 		Succeeded by
Luke Messer (R)
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