Rumors have been flying about who would be the winner of Trump’s Veepstakes competition as The Donald contemplates which victim individual would make the best running mate for him.

Conventional political wisdom points to Newt Gingrich and Chris Christie as being the most likely recipients of Trump’s favor, but rumors of Governor Mike Pence of Indiana emerging as Trump’s running mate have just surfaced. (And let’s face it, this election season has been anything but conventional.)

According to the IndyStar, an Indianapolis newspaper, Pence has said he has not talked to Trump about becoming his veep candidate, but has not ruled it out either. “You’d have to talk to their campaign about who they’re looking at or who they’re not looking at,” he said at a celebratory announcement about Sallie Mae bringing jobs to Indiana. And Rex Early, Trump’s Indiana campaign manager, said, “Pence would fill that bill. Nobody can say Pence is not a conservative. And it seems to me like someone who knows their way around Congress would be good. Pence has been there, done that, and he’s got the T-shirt to prove it.”

Now NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell has broken the news that Trump will be meeting with Pence on Friday.

BREAKING:@realDonaldTrump to meet with Indiana's @GovPenceIN this weekend Social conservative with DC experience

— Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) July 1, 2016

But wait — didn’t Mike Pence endorse Ted Cruz just prior to May’s Indiana primary?

Yes, he did — in a radio endorsement that heaped lavish praise upon Trump, and oh, yes, before I forget, I intend to vote for Cruz in the primary.

So, to paraphrase Dirty Harry — does Mike Pence feel lucky? He’s facing his own tight re-election bid as Indiana governor against Democratic challenger John Gregg, whom he defeated in 2012 by only 3 percentage points. A recent poll taken in May show Pence and Gregg in a virtual dead heat, as Pence leads Gregg by 40 to 36 percent, within the poll’s margin of error of 4 percent. And while Pence brings both gubernatorial and congressional experience to Trump’s table, along with his image as a social conservative warrior, he did end up looking weak after signing a revised Indiana religious freedom law in April. So there’s that.

If Trump goes down in flames at the hand of Hillary Clinton, what will become of Mike Pence’s political future?

Well, Pence, do you feel lucky?