Conservatives urging Pence to fill the “void” in the GOP field

Another plugged-in Pence backer was even more blunt in ticking off the three reasons he is picking up support, each of which distinguishes him from others in the GOP field: he says and believes the right things (unlike, say, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who wants to avoid social issues to focus on the country’s fiscal challenges), has the potential to appeal to a broad audience (unlike, say, Palin or Huckabee who are seen as less likely to be able to draw support beyond their base) and is viewed as a politician who would actually govern as a social and fiscal conservative (unlike, say, Mitt Romney, who continues to be mistrusted by many conservatives)…

“What I see across the board, especially with the party activists, the energetic people, is a sharp division between those personalities you would call ‘old news’ personalities and newcomers,” [Dick Armey] told POLITICO. “And almost anybody, if you said, ‘who will be on the field for the presidential sweepstakes from the Republican side,’ all the names you would name today—Gingrich, Huckabee, and Sarah Palin and Romney—these are all old news names and, quite frankly, I don’t think they have much of a chance.”…

Brent Bozell, a longtime conservative activist who runs the Media Research Center, put it even more succinctly: “There are a number of candidates talking about running I could support – but if you were to ask me who turns me on, it’s Mike Pence.”