Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to be Trump VEEP

Gov. Mike Pence arrives in New Jersey in preparation for Trump’s vice presidential announcement

(Photo: AP)

Gov. Mike Pence is dropping his re-election bid in Indiana to become Donald Trump’s running mate.

IndyStar confirmed shortly after noon Thursday that Trump is planning to announce Pence as his selection for vice president. Several national news outlets, including CNN and ABC News, later reported Trump had offered the post to Pence and he had accepted, ending aweekslong casting call during which Trump vetted a handful of high-profile Republicans.

Trump had been scheduled to formally announce his pick at a news conference in Manhattan at 11 a.m. Friday, but delayed the event in the wake of an attack in Nice, France, that left more than 70 people dead.

The delay could leave Pence, who had already traveled to New York, in political limbo. He faces a noon Friday deadline to withdraw from the governor’s race to allow Indiana Republican leaders to select a replacement candidate.

The developments capped another wild day in the vice presidential search, with Trump’s campaign team insisting throughout the day that no decision had been made, even as Pence was being whisked toward Manhattan in a motorcade after flying on a private plane from Indianapolis to Teterboro, N.J.

In a Thursday evening interview with Fox News, Trump said he still hadn’t made a “final, final” decision. It wasn’t clear if those comments were meant to maintain a sense of surprise for the planned announcement, but Republican strategists, including a former Trump adviser, have repeatedly emphasized Trump’s unpredictability and noted anything is possible.

Trump’s long-awaited decision upends the political landscape in Indiana and at least partially remakes the Trump campaign.

(Do read on!)

http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2016/07/14/report-pence-trumps-vp-pick/87075866/