Son, Don't Run: Pence's Mom Says Time's Not Right for Presidential Bid

ST. MARY-OF-THE-WOODS, Ind. — Indiana Gov. Mike Pence's mother says she thinks her son would make a good U.S. president — just not yet.

"Not right now. I want him to be my governor for two terms," Nancy Pence Fritsch told the Terre Haute Tribune Star Tuesday.

After that it would be "wonderful" if he ran for president, the 82-year-old Pence Fritsch said during a visit to see the governor speak at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College for a Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

Pence noted he was "a little nervous" to have his mother in the audience. The Republican lawmaker is serving his first term as Indiana governor. He was elected in 2012.

Pence has much to offer, his mother said.

"He is Republican, conservative and Christian," she said. "I think he's a very honest and reliable man. God-fearing. Truthful. And he just always sticks with his beliefs. He doesn't stray much from the Golden Rule. What you see is what you get."

Pence Fritsch graduated from the college's distance education program in 1995, receiving a bachelor's degree in psychology.

She said she's proud of her son, but that she has had to adjust to being in the public eye.

"It's a little bit overwhelming," she said. "I told Michael recently I'm getting used to it."