Brian Sikma
Which way for Mike Pence?
By Brian Sikma
It can't be all that bad to be Mike Pence right now. You've just helped your party take over the majority in Congress, you've toured your home state of Indiana extensively helping elect a Republican majority in the state House of Representatives, and now there is quite a bit of talk about how you'd make a great candidate for President or Governor in the looming 2012 election.
Which will it be for Mike Pence this year? Will he start down the road to the oval office in the White House, or will he chose to begin walking the path to the 2nd floor executive office in the Statehouse? It has to be pretty heady stuff to go to conventions and dinners around the country and hear people chant "President Pence." Not to mention that newspapers and magazines have, for weeks now, been featuring articles speculating about a political future that looks extraordinarily promising.
When all the factors are considered, it looks like Mike Pence would be an excellent candidate for governor of Indiana, with the very likely potential to become the GOP's standard-bearer nationally in 2016. How does this play out? Well, first of all, with Lt. Gov. Skillman announcing that she is not going to run for governor, the GOP nomination seems to be fairly secure if your name is Pence. A general election campaign could get underway almost immediately while Hoosier Democrats slug it out over which has-been candidate gets to be their nominee for governor. In addition to that, there is the fact that while Pence's national donor base might not be able to hold up or expand fast enough under the strain of a national campaign, it could certainly be brought together with his very impressive Indiana donor and supporter base to build a campaign that Democrats could not hope to match.
By running for governor in 2012, Pence isn't shutting the door on the presidency. Far from it, he could in fact be escaping a very unhappy primary and positioning himself as the presumptive nominee for 2016. Certainly the nation can ill-afford four more years of inept liberal leadership under President Obama, but at this point it does not appear that any of the GOP heavyweights looking to challenge him have what it takes to capture the presidency from a man and campaign that are looking to bring back the magic of 2008. Staying out of the fray would allow Pence to burnish his resume by gaining executive experience, further Indiana's own interests by building on the foundation left by the Daniels-Skillman administration, while quietly preparing for a national run in the future.
Generally speaking, it is easier to run for president from the position of governor than it is to run for president from the position of congressman. More importantly, perhaps, is the fact that Indiana needs Mike Pence before the nation gets him. Gov. Mitch Daniels has done a lot of tremendous work over the past 6 years, and he will get more good work done in the remaining 2 years that he has in office. But few would say that Indiana wouldn't benefit from the leadership style and conservative brand that are embodied in Mike Pence.
Mr. Pence: Indiana needs you before you go back to Washington. We want to share you with the nation, but we need your help back home first. And just in case anyone is wondering, whatever choice you make, Hoosiers will be behind you 100%.
© Brian Sikma
January 2, 2011
It can't be all that bad to be Mike Pence right now. You've just helped your party take over the majority in Congress, you've toured your home state of Indiana extensively helping elect a Republican majority in the state House of Representatives, and now there is quite a bit of talk about how you'd make a great candidate for President or Governor in the looming 2012 election.
Which will it be for Mike Pence this year? Will he start down the road to the oval office in the White House, or will he chose to begin walking the path to the 2nd floor executive office in the Statehouse? It has to be pretty heady stuff to go to conventions and dinners around the country and hear people chant "President Pence." Not to mention that newspapers and magazines have, for weeks now, been featuring articles speculating about a political future that looks extraordinarily promising.
When all the factors are considered, it looks like Mike Pence would be an excellent candidate for governor of Indiana, with the very likely potential to become the GOP's standard-bearer nationally in 2016. How does this play out? Well, first of all, with Lt. Gov. Skillman announcing that she is not going to run for governor, the GOP nomination seems to be fairly secure if your name is Pence. A general election campaign could get underway almost immediately while Hoosier Democrats slug it out over which has-been candidate gets to be their nominee for governor. In addition to that, there is the fact that while Pence's national donor base might not be able to hold up or expand fast enough under the strain of a national campaign, it could certainly be brought together with his very impressive Indiana donor and supporter base to build a campaign that Democrats could not hope to match.
By running for governor in 2012, Pence isn't shutting the door on the presidency. Far from it, he could in fact be escaping a very unhappy primary and positioning himself as the presumptive nominee for 2016. Certainly the nation can ill-afford four more years of inept liberal leadership under President Obama, but at this point it does not appear that any of the GOP heavyweights looking to challenge him have what it takes to capture the presidency from a man and campaign that are looking to bring back the magic of 2008. Staying out of the fray would allow Pence to burnish his resume by gaining executive experience, further Indiana's own interests by building on the foundation left by the Daniels-Skillman administration, while quietly preparing for a national run in the future.
Generally speaking, it is easier to run for president from the position of governor than it is to run for president from the position of congressman. More importantly, perhaps, is the fact that Indiana needs Mike Pence before the nation gets him. Gov. Mitch Daniels has done a lot of tremendous work over the past 6 years, and he will get more good work done in the remaining 2 years that he has in office. But few would say that Indiana wouldn't benefit from the leadership style and conservative brand that are embodied in Mike Pence.
Mr. Pence: Indiana needs you before you go back to Washington. We want to share you with the nation, but we need your help back home first. And just in case anyone is wondering, whatever choice you make, Hoosiers will be behind you 100%.
© Brian Sikma
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