Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence said he’s “communicated” recently with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan and that he looks forward to working with Mr. Ryan and other members of Congress after Election Day.
Mr. Pence, a former congressman, said in an interview that aired on MSNBC Tuesday that he and Mr. Ryan had communicated “in the last 24 hours” and said they’ve been friends for more than 15 years.
“We look forward to working with Paul Ryan, other members of Congress, members of the United States Senate to advance that agenda after we find our way through a successful Election Day November the 8th,” Mr. Pence said.
“I think the speaker of the House is focusing on re-electing his team, but Paul Ryan’s voting for Donald Trump,” he said. “He’s made that very clear, and we’re very grateful to have his support and the support of Mitch McConnell and, frankly, the support of Republican leaders across the country.”
Mr. Pence also repeated his call, which he’s made multiple times in recent days, for Republicans to “come home” to the GOP ticket.
Mr. Ryan has kept GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump at arm’s length. But two members of the speaker’s leadership team — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Majority Whip Steve Scalise — made the rounds on Fox News Tuesday to affirm their support for Mr. Trump.
Recent polling has shown Republican voters siding with Mr. Trump over Mr. Ryan in terms of whose vision they’d like to see for the GOP.
Mr. Pence also downplayed the significance of his campaigning in deep-red Utah this late in the campaign. He’s also scheduled to be in Nevada and Colorado on Wednesday.
“I was headed west anyway,” he said. “We’ve got great momentum in Nevada and in Colorado. We’re excited about that, the opportunity to stop into Utah and to rally our support in that state is a great opportunity for us.”
“It might well be my last trip west of the Mississippi,” Mr. Pence said. “So I wanted to take the opportunity to rally the faithful, actually stop in, raise a few dollars at a campaign fundraiserm and we’re looking very much forward to it.”
“Look, we’re just going to leave no stone unturned in this election,” he said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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