What distinguishes Pence is that after he leaves the Cleveland stage and the cameras go off, Pence remains every bit as pleasant in private as he presents himself to be in public — and that’s according to both the people who’ve backed him for years and the people who’ve spent those same years pushing back on Pence’s agenda at every turn.

“In person he’s very amiable, he’s really friendly and engaged,” said Ann DeLaney, a former chair of the state Democratic Party and the legislative director for former Gov. Evan Bayh. DeLaney, who was an occasional guest on Pence’s radio show in the 1990s, said Pence’s personal and political political positions struck her as an “odd dichotomy.”

“Mike Pence is a nice person, he’s a good retail politician in terms of remembering people’s names, making sure they get a hand written note,” said Scott Pelath, the top Democrat in the Indiana House of Representatives. “He has that part down. He can be very gracious personally.”