Donald Trump is famous for his rhetorical aggression, his lack of harmony in speech, and his often controversial comments. Since he’s stepped into the arena of presidential politics, Trump has been the antithesis of political correctness — and proudly so.

Yet, every seemingly misspoken sentence has left Trump unscathed thus far. It was only days ago that Trump and Clinton were neck and neck in the polls in the battle for the White House. Unfortunately for Trump, it may not be his campaign rhetoric that tanks his bid for the Oval Office. Instead, the breaking point may be the newly released tape, more than a decade old, that records Trump using particularly vulgar language toward women.

Time will tell, or actually, the election for that matter, if Trump’s comments will be the nail in his presidential coffin. However, the man truly stuck in the middle is Governor Mike Pence, Trump’s running mate. Although, Pence unequivocally denounced Trump’s remarks, many in the conservative movement speculate that Trump’s character could curse Pence’s own future ambitions.

My assumption, however, is that those pundits are merely being dramatic or using it as a scare tactic to push Pence to quit the campaign. Whether you support Trump, never did, or have changed your decision after the latest bombshell, one thing remains certain: Mike Pence is no Donald Trump.

In fact, there is really no comparison. If anything, that’s what has made Pence a worthy vice presidential candidate. Trump has been a lifelong businessman, often times with varying political opinions. He occasionally appears readily religious and situationally conservative. I hope that Trump’s positions today are genuine. Still, as a non-politician without a voting record, we have only his word to go on.

Pence, on the other hand, has a long and documented political history, including a record in both Congress and as governor of Indiana. In Congress, he put his money where his mouth is: He rebuked his own party by voting against No Child Left Behind in 2001, he opposed a major entitlement expansion of Medicare in 2003, and he routinely voted against every notable government bailout, including Wall Street’s (TARP).

As a staff member for then-Congressman Pence in 2010, I know from personal experience that he was often guided in life and politics by his faith. Few members of Congress hewed so closely to their faith in God to guide day-to-day decisions.

Ironically, the second debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump proved that Pence is much more than simply an extension of Trump. While they are known to disagree on a plethora of topics (trade and a ban on Muslims are just two examples), the distinction between the men was brought to the fore on Sunday night, when Trump nearly had to rebuke his own running mate on stage. Martha Raddatz questioned Trump’s interaction with Russia saying, “Pence at last week’s vice presidential debate said that ‘provocations by Russia need to be met with American strength.’” Trump quickly rebutted, “He and I haven’t spoken, and I disagree.” In this race, it is clear that Pence is his own man.

More so, Pence may be the best conservative option — with one of the best conservative résumés — in future elections. Aside from fighting in Congress for balanced budgets, tax cuts, and reducing the size of government, Pence has one of the most conservative records as governor.

As The Wall Street Journal highlights, his economic record in Indiana is impressive. In Indiana, economic growth matched or exceeded the national average. Job creation grew by 10 percent since 2012 in the state versus only 6.5 percent in the US. He alone expanded manufacturing jobs by more than 30,000.

Most impressively, Pence balanced the budget each and every year — while cutting taxes. He reduced income taxes, corporate taxes, personal property taxes and repealed the estate tax. And he did this all while keeping government spending below the rate of inflation.

Few can match Pence’s résumé.

That’s because Pence is his own man, and regardless of how this election turns out, any opportunity for a 2020 run will not be shattered by his decision to run with Trump. Pence is not running for power or prestige, but as a principled individual with conservative convictions. That passion was immediately apparent in his amazing performance during the first and only vice presidential debate. Even The Boston Globe agreed that Pence appeared presidential.

Like many before Pence, this vice presidential run will not be his legacy. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. (F, 51%), for example, is now Speaker of the House. Pence has a bright future ahead of him — whether he’s working in the White House come January or not. (For more from the author of “Win or Lose This November, Mike Pence Has a Bright Future Ahead of Him” please click HERE)

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GOP vice presidential nominee Mike Pence makes no bones about the role of faith in his life. “I’m a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order,” he is fond of saying.

As Pence takes to the stage Wednesday night in Cleveland, the time is ripe to look closer at the faith walk of the man who may well end up a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Early Years

Mike Pence grew up in a devout Catholic family that, according to the Indy Star, didn’t talk politics at the table. Sundays meant Mass at St. Columba, and like his three brothers, Pence served as an altar boy.

“Our life revolved around the church,” Gregory Pence, one of Mr. Pence’s two older brothers, told The New York Times.

When Pence went off to college at Hanover College in Indiana, he didn’t leave religion behind. Instead, he found fellowship with believers in other branches of the church body.

“I began to meet young men and women who talked about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ,” he would tell the Christian Broadcasting Network years later. He began seeking a deeper relationship with the Lord.

While attending law school at Indiana University, he spotted a girl playing a guitar in a church choir. Her name was Karen. As The New York Times tells it, “After they started dating, she bought a gold cross with the word ‘Yes’ engraved on it, and kept it stashed away in her purse until he proposed.”

Karen Pence “has been very much a part of his faith journey,” friend Mark Bailey told the Times, “He would refer to his wife as the prayer warrior of the family.”

At a Christian music concert in 1978, Mike Pence gave his life to Christ.

Faith in Action

“I think he will tell you very openly he made a commitment to Christ as a young adult,” the Indy Star quotes law school pal Bill Stephan as saying, “I think he’s pretty serious about his prayer life, and his actions and deeds reflect his faith. That’s part of what motivates him to public service.”

Inspired originally by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Kennedy, and later by Ronald Reagan, Pence’s political career has been particularly noted for his stance as a social conservative guided by his evangelical Christian beliefs.

As Indiana governor, Pence signed into law one of the most stringent abortion laws in the U.S., banning abortions when a fetus has a disability. Said Pence, “I sign this legislation with a prayer that God would continue to bless these precious children, mothers and families.” He’s fought to end federal funding to Planned Parenthood.

A strong believer in traditional marriage and religious rights, he championed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in Indiana, declaring in his 2015 State of the Union address:

I will not support any bill that diminished the religious freedom of Hoosiers or that interferes with the constitutional rights of our citizens to live out their beliefs in worship, service or work. … No one should ever fear persecution because of their deeply held religious beliefs.”

After intense pressure from LGBT activists, businesses and potshots from the President, Pence agreed to amend the act, but continues defending its core principle of religious liberty.

He also cited his faith in his defense of Israel, as the Religious News Service noted, telling AIPAC in 2009, “Let me say emphatically, like the overwhelming majority of my constituents, my Christian faith compels me to cherish the state of Israel.”

When Political Ambition Collided with Christian Conviction

Pence’s faith plays out in the political arena beyond just policies. He never dines alone with a woman who is not his wife, and while in Congress was known for avoiding booze-filled events if Karen was not present. “If there’s alcohol being served and people are being loose,” he told The Hill in 2001, “I want to have the best-looking brunette in the room standing next to me.” As the Times reports, “Fellow representatives sometimes joked about the need to clean up their language when he was approaching them in the halls of Congress.”

Pence had run for Congress before, but his religious convictions got steamrolled by his political ambitions.

In 1988 and 1990, Pence ran against incumbent Democrat Phil Sharp. Both times, Pence went negative. Very negative. A million advertising dollars worth of negative. In one ad, which the IndyStar said had been considered the most negative ad in Indiana history, Pence had an actor dressed as a Sheikh thanking Sharp for the U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

Pence lost both races. But crucially, he came to see his approach as un-Christianlike. “I really screwed up on this,” he told a colleague, “It’s not me.” He would publicly apologize to Sharp and publish an essay in 1991 titled “Confessions of a Negative Campaigner.”

“He vowed he would never run a negative campaign again,” political science professor Brian Vargus said in 2012, “And if you look, he has not.”

“It’s wrong,” Pence said that same year, “to use one’s brief moment in a political debate to talk about what’s wrong with your opponent, as opposed to what’s right with your ideas.”

Already the questions are mounting as to how Pence’s vow will play as he partners with a twice-divorced candidate who shoots out insults like a Gatling gun. Donald Trump, for his part, says he’s not expecting Pence to play the traditional V.P. attack dog roll. “I call her ‘Crooked Hillary’, he told 60 Minutes, “but I don’t think he should do it, because it’s different for him. … He’s not that kind of person.” When asked about it by The New York Times, Pence’s brother Gregory simply said, “Judge not, lest you be judged.”

Pence is expected to bring his irenic, gentlemanly manner to the campaign. “I’m a conservative, but I’m not angry about it,” he says. “Let’s be cheerful partisans and happy warriors.”

His faith is expected to be front and center as he seeks the second highest office in the land. And he can expect comments like this once uttered by a political columnist in Indiana and quoted by the Times, “Pence doesn’t simply wear his faith on his sleeve, he wears the entire Jesus jersey.”

But he can also be expected to express how crucial traditional values are the governance of our nation. As he told the Family Research Council’s Value Voters Summit in 2010, “Those who would have us ignore the battle being fought over life, marriage and religious liberty have forgotten the lessons of history. America’s darkest moments have come when economic arguments trumped moral principles.” (For more from the author of “Faith, Politics and Mike Pence” please click HERE)

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