Pence, Indiana governor, is Trump’s running mate

Republican Donald Trump has selected Indiana governor Mike Pence to be his vice-presidential running mate.

Before making the announcement via his Twitter handle, the US media had been awash with reports of Pence being the choice of the presidential hopeful.

“I am pleased to announce that I have chosen Governor Mike Pence as my Vice Presidential running mate. News conference tomorrow at 11:00am,” Trump tweeted.

His campaign had planned to announce his selection on Friday morning, but cancelled the event because of the attack in Nice, France.

Pence has executive experience as Indiana’s governor and a strong legislative resume from his 12 years as a member of the US house of representatives.

As a lawmaker, he chaired the Republican Study Group, a coalition of hard-core conservatives, which gives him solid bona fides among the grass-roots Tea Party wing of the party that has occasional doubts about Trump’s ideological purity.

Pence also hails from the mid-west, which Trump’s team has identified as perhaps the key battleground in his quest for the White House.

Some on the right have criticised the governor for backing down when the state’s “religious liberty” law was challenged by LGBT activists and local businesses last year.

Pence’s decision to expand government health-care coverage for Indiana’s poor is also considered ideological heresy by some.

The Indiana governor is strongly anti-abortion and signed a religious freedom bill, which some saw as anti-gay, into law.

Last year, Pence tweeted that Trump’s plan was “offensive and unconstitutional”.

He has also expressed support for free trade agreements and was in favour of the war in Iraq, which Trump said he was not.

Pence also criticised Trump for his attacks on Hispanic judge Gonzalo Curiel, who was born in Indiana.

Trump had said Curiel could not possibly rule fairly in a case against him became of his Hispanic heritage.