Mike Pence to Run with Donald Trump, Join GOP Ticket as Vice Presidential Nominee

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence will be announced as presidential candidate Donald Trump’s running mate on the Republican ticket in the 2016 election.

The Indianapolis Star has confirmed that Trump plans to announce Pence as his pick for vice president, ending a weeks-long process.

Pence will drop his bid for re-election in Indiana to run with Trump, whose spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, says "a decision has not been made."

A formal announcement is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday in Manhattan, and while Trump could pull a fast one, all signs point to Pence.

With the addition of the governor, a social conservative with state house and Congressional experience, Trump hopes to shore up his base.

Pence also provides an experienced, at times more credible and almost certainly more disciplined counter to Trump’s unusual style.

The Republican National Convention, which starts July 18 in Cleveland, will formally nominate Trump and Pence for President and V.P.

Pence, a vocal Trump supporter since he clinched the Republican nomination, will help him take on Democrat Hillary Clinton in November.

Trump appeared to have winnowed the field of vice presidential picks from about 10 people as recently as last week to a select few.

Some likened the audition process to reality show casting, but in the end, the star of the show picked a substantive, non-flashy "apprentice."

Aside from Pence, the other favorites were thought to be former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

A couple of prospective running mates, U.S. Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and Joni Ernst of Iowa, withdrew their names from consideration.

Ernst said she was focused on serving in the Senate but suggested Pence, a longtime favorite among conservatives, should get the nod.

Looks like The Donald listened. Will it matter?

Polls suggest Clinton leads nationally over the mercurial real estate mogul, but that her margin has narrowed in the previous week or so.

State polls also show her with a tangible, albeit diminishing, advantage in what will ultimately determine the electoral college majority.

Clinton has yet to name her V.P. running mate.

The extent to which Vice Presidential nominees, on either site, will influence voters is hard to define at best, and negligible at worst.

With Pence, however, Trump signals that he is shoring up his lack of political experience and his unpredictable style with a steady hand.

Combine those two factors with Pence's popularity among a Republican base that is still resistant to Trump, and it seems like a logical pick.