How much did Pence help or hurt?

[President Johnson]

How much did Pence help or hurt Trump? I think he likely helped with the evangelicals, but not sure about the more moderates (especially Obama 2012/Trump 2016 voters). I considered Pence as a bad choice back in July when he was announced. I still think that John Kasich would have been the strongest running mate for the Donald. I would also be more relieved if I knew that Kasich would take over if something happens.

[Meclazine for Israel]

I think Pence helped.

With Trump portraying the lone wolf figure ("i alone can fix the system") he needed a fairly stable and respectful figure in the campaign.

[Bismarck]

He helped by getting a lot of reluctant party leaders to rally around Trump. He may have helped with evangelical voters as well, but I think prinarily he helped by unifying the party.

[7,052,770]

I think he helped a lot. There's no reason whatsoever for an anti-abortion, anti-LGBT equality voter to have any interest in Trump, but they almost all voted for him, and I think Pence is a big reason why they took a chance on him.

If Pence had quit the ticket like he supposedly almost did after the Access Hollywood tape, I'm pretty confident Trump would've lost bigly.

[Beet]

I think he helped a lot. There's no reason whatsoever for an anti-abortion, anti-LGBT equality voter to have any interest in Trump, but they almost all voted for him, and I think Pence is a big reason why they took a chance on him.

If Pence had quit the ticket like he supposedly almost did after the Access Hollywood tape, I'm pretty confident Trump would've lost bigly.

Precisely right. Pence was a genius VP pick, although it wasn't obvious why at the time to everyone, he balanced the party and reassured the stalwarts after a contentious primary.

In contrast, picking a pro-banker, pro-TPP candidate from a state including the beltway/Washington DC suburbs and who 88% of Sanders supporters said was unacceptable, did not help Hillary balance her party or reassure progressives.

[Tender Branson]

Eh... Pence probably won the election for Trump in the rust belt (huge home state effect in the region).

[Mister Mets]

He helped a lot with evangelical voters. He also helped normalize Trump to skeptical Republicans, and cut off potential defections from officeholders. He was also effective as a national surrogate, and an indication of the type of people who would be hired in a Trump administration.

[Pericles]

I think it would either have been a 2000-style Trump win or a loss without Pence, unless the VP was Kasich instead.

[Kingpoleon]

Pence united evangelicals and Tea Partiers behind Trump, and accentuated the Midwestern appeal. Nikki Haley, Ted Cruz, Bobby Jindal, and quite a few others could have done the same thing.

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

I think he helped a lot. There's no reason whatsoever for an anti-abortion, anti-LGBT equality voter to have any interest in Trump, but they almost all voted for him, and I think Pence is a big reason why they took a chance on him.

If Pence had quit the ticket like he supposedly almost did after the Access Hollywood tape, I'm pretty confident Trump would've lost bigly.

This.

He also had a large home state effect in Indiana, strong enough to even pull Holcomb over the line.

[Lincoln Republican]

Pence helped Trump tremendously, in fact Pence was instrumental in Trump's victory.

Pence is without a doubt the greatest Vice Presidential asset to a ticket since Lyndon B Johnson was to John F Kennedy in 1960.

[Fargobison]

Considering it seemed like Christie was the second choice and maybe Trump's preferred choice, I would say Pence was an immense help.

[President Johnson]

Eh... Pence probably won the election for Trump in the rust belt (huge home state effect in the region).

I doubt it when it comes to the Rust Belt. The Donald had a special appeal for Rust Belt voters (especially disaffected whites and a small number of blacks), who felt left behind by Washington. NAFTA and the whole trade policy were important issues for them and he was the first one to address it, what made him authentic with these folks. I doubt that Pence helped with Obama/Trump voters, who are probably socially more moderate or liberal. Obviously, there are tons of Obama/Trump voters around the Great Lakes.

[Mister Mets]

I think it would either have been a 2000-style Trump win or a loss without Pence, unless the VP was Kasich instead.

Pence was helpful, but it is worth remembering he got the job because other Republicans (Kasich, Portman, Corker, Rubio, etc.) said no,

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The Midwest was a team effort. Pence got the base voters out while Trump got the WWC indies and swing voters.


Look at the cities that Pence most went too after the Convention (Lima, Altoona, Sioux City, Grand Rapids, WOW), compared to Trump (Scranton, Davenport, Green Bay, Detroit). There was a definite pattern of rust belt cities for Trump and more Republican and Evangelical cities for Pence, not to say there was not significant overlap when it comes to say Lima obviously or even Grand Rapids.