Did Trump's Selection of Pence help him Consolidate the Republican Party Base?

[NOVA Green]

Donald Trump was lagging dramatically in post-convention polling, but was able to mount a dramatic comeback the brought the race to a virtual tie within national polling.

One of the key factors that appears to have played a role, was Trump's ability to consolidate the Republican base through early September.

Was the selection of Pence a key factor in Trump's consolidation of the Republican Party Base?

Please discuss.

[Ronnie]

Yeah, he did.  Trump needs much more than the Republican base to win, though.

Also, option 3 is such a cop-out.  Why even include it?

[Coolface Sock #42069]

No - I believe he would have wrapped up the 85% or so of Republicans he has now anyway after the convention assuming he picked a non-liberal VP (didn't need to be a conservative), and the people who are NeverTrump today would not have voted for him no matter who the VP choice was.

[NOVA Green]

No - I believe he would have wrapped up the 85% or so of Republicans he has now anyway after the convention assuming he picked a non-liberal VP (didn't need to be a conservative), and the people who are NeverTrump today would not have voted for him no matter who the VP choice was.

So Trump could literally have picked just about any VP and been able to consolidate the Party base,  regardless of picking an evangelical VP with major gravitas within the party or not?

Just curious as to the thinking of Republicans and Republican leaners on this forum, if this was a key factor in his rapid consolidation from post-debate to pre Labor Day numbers, compared to a potential alternative candidate, where it appears that the evangelical Republicans were the key driver in what was less of a collapse of Clinton numbers and more a consolidation of Trump numbers during that time  frame.

[Figueira]

If by "the base" you mean the right wing of the party, then yeah. He might have actually hurt a bit among moderates, though.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Pence is awesome.

I wish he were leading the ticket.

I have no doubt that his presence on the ticket has prevented a certain amount of #NeverTrumpism, particularly on the part of Ted Cruz and Carly Fiorina.

[RINO Tom]

Pence is awesome.

I wish he were leading the ticket.

I have no doubt that his presence on the ticket has prevented a certain amount of #NeverTrumpism, particularly on the part of Ted Cruz and Carly Fiorina.

Pence's defiantly free-trade views wouldn't be a deal breaker for you...?

Isn't the entire reason you registered with the GOP because Trump was seen as some ushering in of a populist GOP?  That is still far from certain, and it'd have no chance of happening with Pence.

[PaperKooper]

Pence is awesome.

I wish he were leading the ticket.

I have no doubt that his presence on the ticket has prevented a certain amount of #NeverTrumpism, particularly on the part of Ted Cruz and Carly Fiorina.

[Coolface Sock #42069]

No - I believe he would have wrapped up the 85% or so of Republicans he has now anyway after the convention assuming he picked a non-liberal VP (didn't need to be a conservative), and the people who are NeverTrump today would not have voted for him no matter who the VP choice was.

So Trump could literally have picked just about any VP and been able to consolidate the Party base,  regardless of picking an evangelical VP with major gravitas within the party or not?

Just curious as to the thinking of Republicans and Republican leaners on this forum, if this was a key factor in his rapid consolidation from post-debate to pre Labor Day numbers, compared to a potential alternative candidate, where it appears that the evangelical Republicans were the key driver in what was less of a collapse of Clinton numbers and more a consolidation of Trump numbers during that time  frame.

Yeah, I really think so. There are so many Republicans (in the anti-Trump crowd, even) who so despise Hillary that they'd vote for Darth Sidious or the Joker over her. A large percentage of these people are evangelical Christians, particularly on the socially conservative end of things. So all Trump had to do was not become worse than Clinton (which he may have been able to do with a liberal VP choice, but not a RINO/moderate Republican).

If he were up against someone less viscerally hated by this group (like 2008 Obama, for example), he may not have consolidated their support so quickly. But these people have hated Hillary for thirty years.

[Brittain33]

Imagine if he had picked Christie, Gingrich, or Giuliani. Can you imagine as many officeholders saying they would write one of them in instead of Trump as a way of backing out of their endorsements?

[BlueSwan]

Yes. If you are looking for an excuse to vote for Donald Trump, Mike Pence will provide that excuse for a number of republicans.

[Coolface Sock #42069]

Imagine if he had picked Christie, Gingrich, or Giuliani. Can you imagine as many officeholders saying they would write one of them in instead of Trump as a way of backing out of their endorsements?

Of course not.

[mark_twain]

The selection of Pence was a good decision by Donald Trump.

The only problem is that it was the only correct decision made by Donald Trump this entire campaign.

The GOP base remains highly divided now, with his chances in the election shattered, due to Trump's massive failures in other areas of the campaign.