Here's how Mike Pence's radio show roots will help him on the campaign trail

Mike Pence&#039;s career in radio prepared him to run as Donald Trump&#039;s Vice President.

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images))

last updated 20 July 2016

Donald Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, is one of a handful of politicians who have made the transition from radio show host to politics, putting him in the company of Mike Huckabee, J.D. Hayworth, and, of course, Ronald Reagan. But despite having carved out a modest name for himself as a conservative Indiana talk show host in the 1990s, Pence doesn't much refer to his on-air past, Politico reports. But Pence's radio career was priming him to become exactly the kind of person Trump would later want to join his campaign:

Doing radio in the '90s, Pence wore crisp button-down shirts with the sleeves rolled up. He'd read snippets off wrinkled newspapers, nervously shuffle around his notes and make wild hand gestures. He had no sidekick, and there was no computer nearby for easy Googling. This was Pence unplugged, and it was here that he rebranded himself by offering a right-leaning spin on the world around him. He was also doing Trump's shtick years ahead of Trump, questioning the political wisdom of GOP leaders like Gingrich and Lott back in Washington, and much closer to home, condemning the local mainstream media for its "hatchet job" reporting on the Indianapolis 500. [Politico]

Pence's radio-show persona still makes the occasional appearance, and that could come in handy soon. "In politics, one, you need to be conversational, and he is conversational. Second, you need to be able to connect with people, and you can do it through his voice. It's very pleasing. It's very Midwestern. People like to hear the voice, and that will bode well for him on the campaign trail," former Vice President Dan Quayle observed.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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