THE-STANDARD.ORG
THE STANDARD
ELECTION 2020 | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2020 | • 11
Michael Pence Republican vice presidential candidate
Republican Mike Pence is the incumbent vice president on the ballot with President Donald Trump. Before he was sworn into office, Pence was Indiana’s 50th governor from 2013 to 2017. Pence is from Columbus, Ind. where he was born in 1959. In 1981, he graduated from Hanover College in Hanover, Ind., with a bachelor’s degree in history. He later graduated from Indiana University School of Law where he received his J.D. in 1986. Pence is most known for his stances on infrastructure, religious freedom and LGBTQ+ rights. During his time as governor in Indiana, more than $800 million was invested in the roads and bridges across the state known as “The Crossroads of America. This was accomplished while also giving record tax cuts to Indiana citizens. Pence signed into law a 5% individual tax cut, which applied to all residents. When Pence signed into law the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 2015, supporters of the bill claimed it would protect business owners’ freedom of religion. Such as the 2012 in-
cident involving a cake shop refusing to make a cake for a gay wedding. Pence has been public about his beliefs regarding the LGBTQ+ community, supporting an amendment in 2006 that would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman. In 2007 Pence also voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which was to prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. In 2017, Pence became the first vice president to confirm a cabinet member by tiebreaker when he confirmed Secretary Betsy DeVos. In total during his term as vice president, Pence has cast 13 tie-breaking votes. For more information on Mike Pence, visit whitehouse.gov/people/mike-pence
Source: D. Myles Cullen/White House
