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.
After graduating from law school in 1986, Pence worked as an attorney in private practice. He continued to practice law following his second unsuccessful run for Congress.
In November 2000, Pence was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in Indiana's 2nd Congressional District after six-year incumbent David M. McIntosh (1995–2001) opted to run for governor of Indiana.
On November 8, 2006, Pence announced his candidacy for leader of the Republican Party (minority leader) in the United States House of Representatives. Pence's release announcing his run for minority leader focused on a "return to the values" of the 1994 Republican Revolution. On November 17, Pence lost to Representative John Boehner of Ohio by a vote of 168–27–1 (the one vote went to Representative Joe Barton of Texas).
Pence served for a time as the chairman of the Republican Study Committee. His Committee assignments in the U.S. House included: Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia (Vice Chair); Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution (Vice Chair), and Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet.
While in Congress, Pence belonged to the Tea Party Caucus. Pence also belonged to the Congressional Internet Caucus, International Conservation Caucus, and Sportsmen's Caucus.
After the November 2010 election, Pence announced that he would not run for re-election as the Republican Conference Chairman. On May 5, 2011, Pence announced that he would seek the Republican nomination for Governor of Indiana in 2012.
On November 6, 2012, Pence won the gubernatorial election, defeating Democratic nominee John R. Gregg and Libertarian nominee Rupert Boneham.
Pence became the 50th Governor of Indiana on January 14, 2013.
Pence made tax reform, namely a 10% income-tax rate cut, a priority for 2013.
On March 26, 2015, Pence signed Indiana Senate Bill 101, also known as the Indiana "religious objections" bill (RFRA), into law. The law's signing was met with widespread criticism by people and groups who felt the law was carefully worded in a way that would permit discrimination against LGBT persons.
As of March 2016, Pence has attempted unsuccessfully to prevent Syrian refugees from being resettled in Indiana.
Pence is running for a second term as governor. He was unopposed in the May 3, 2016, Republican primary for governor. He faces Democrat John Gregg, former Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives, in a rematch of the 2012 race. Early reports on July 14 suggest Pence is likely to be announced as the VP candidate on July 15.
In July 2016, Trump said that there was three people on his running mate shortlist: Chris Christie, Newt Gingrich and Pence himself. On July 14, 2016, it was reported that Trump selected Pence as his running mate. On July 15, 2016, Trump announced on his Twitter that Pence would be his running mate. He made a formal announcement in New York City on July 16, 2016.
Trump would go on to defeat Clinton in the general election making Pence the Vice President-elect of the United States.
Pence was inaugurated as the 48th Vice President of the United States after being sworn in by Associate Justice Clarence Thomas on January 20, 2017.
On January 27, 2017, Pence spoke at the March for Life in Washington D.C., becoming the first vice president and the highest ranking United States official to ever speak at the annual event.
Following the Trump-supporter storming of the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 many politicians and lawyers wanted Pence to use the 25th amendment of the United States Constitution to remove Trump from office.
Pence and his wife Karen Pence have been married since 1985. They have three children: Michael, Charlotte, and Audrey. Pence is a born-again Christian. His brother, Greg, is the member of the United States House of Representatives.
In April 2021, Pence had heart surgery to have a pacemaker implanted to help stop his slow heart rate.
Paul LePage
Paul Richard LePage (born October 9, 1948) is an American businessman and Republican Party politician. He served as the 74th Governor of Maine from 2011 to 2019.
In April 2020, LePage announced his candidacy for governor, running against Governor Janet T. Mills in the upcoming 2022 election.
He was the mayor of Waterville from 2003 to 2011, and was a city councilor prior to that. He worked as general manager of the 14-store discount chain Marden's Surplus and Salvage from 1996 until 2011.
Brian Sandoval
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Pat McCrory
Patrick Lloyd "Pat" McCrory (born October 17, 1956) is an American politician. He was the 74th Governor of North Carolina from 2013 to 2017. He served a record 14 years as the 53rd Mayor of Charlotte from 1995 to 2009, and as a city councilman from 1989 to 1995. In 2016, McCroy lost his re-election bid to Democrat Roy Cooper.
In April 2021, McCrory announced his candidacy for the United States Senate in the 2022 election to replace retiring Republican Senator Richard Burr.
Jack Dalrymple
John Stewart "Jack" Dalrymple III (born October 16, 1948) is an American politician and businessman. He was the 32nd Governor of North Dakota from 2010 to 2016.
He was previously the 36th Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota from 2000 until December 2010. He assumed the office of Governor when then-Governor John Hoeven resigned and Dalrymple succeeded him. He has also served as a state representative, and ran for the U.S. Senate twice.
Dennis Daugaard
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Bill Haslam
William Edward "Bill" Haslam (born August 23, 1958) is an American politician. He was the 49th Governor of Tennessee. A member of the Republican Party, Haslam was elected Governor in 2010 and was sworn in on January 15, 2011.
Gary Herbert
Gary Richard Herbert (born May 7, 1947) is an American politician. He is a member of the Republican Party.
In August 2009, Herbert became the 17th Governor of Utah. He left office on January 4, 2021.
Vincent C. Gray
Vincent Condol Gray (born November 8, 1942) is an American politician. He served as the seventh Mayor of the District of Columbia from 2011 to 2015. Gray served as Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia, and as Councilmember for Ward 7. In the 1990s he also served as director of the DC Department of Human Services.
On April 1, 2014, he was defeated in the Democratic primary by future Mayor Muriel Bowser.
American Fork, Utah
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Josh Earnest
Josh Earnest (born March 10, 1977) is an American politician. He was the White House Assistant for Barack Obama. In June 2014, Earnest became White House Press Secretary succeeding Jay Carney.
Lolo Matalasi Moliga
Lolo Letalu Matalasi Moliga (born 1949) is an American Samoan politician, former educator, businessman, and former President of the Development Bank of American Samoa (DBAS) from 2009 to 2012. Moliga was a candidate for Governor of American Samoa in the 2012 election which he won. He left office in 2021.
Eddie Calvo
Eddie Baza Calvo (born August 29, 1961) is an American Guamanian politician. He was the Governor of the United States territory of Guam from 2011 to 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party. His father, Paul McDonald Calvo, also served as governor of Guam from 1979 through 1983.