Vice President Mike Pence is ending his bid to become the GOP 2024 presidential campaign as he faces mounting debt and lagging poll numbers against his former boss, Donald Trump.
“To the American people I say: This is not my time,” Pence told attendees at the Republican Jewish Coalition donor conference in Las Vegas on Saturday. We always knew this would be an uphill battle, but I have no regrets.”
The former vice president stopped short of endorsing anyone in his speech, but in an obvious nod to the GOP frontrunner, Pence called on Americans to select someone who appeals to “the better angels of our nature” and can lead with “civility.”
The former Indiana governor and congressman, 64, openly broke with Trump, criticizing the former president for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Pence believed that Republican primary voters would reward him for following the U.S. Constitution rather than obeying Trump, who wanted him to overturn the 2020 election results.
Although Pence averted a national crisis by following the Constitution, he incurred Trump’s wrath, as well as his supporters, who still consider the former vice president a traitor.
On the Democratic side, Pence is seen as someone who said too little, too late about some of Trump’s most egregious actions that have led to numerous trials, including 91 criminal charges.
As a result, an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research from August found that most U.S. adults, 57%, viewed Pence negatively, with only 28% having a positive view.
The decision to end his campaign more than two months before the all-important Iowa caucuses saves Pence from the embarrassment of failing to qualify for the third Republican primary debate, on Nov. 8 in Miami.
The former Indiana governor and congressman ended September with just $1.18 million in the bank—a very low balance compared to his rivals–and $621,000 in debt, according to his most recent campaign filing, as first reported by AP.
Nikki Haley, a GOP candidate and former South Carolina governor who has battled with Pence in the past, offered praise following his surprise announcement.
“He’s been a good man of faith. He’s been a good man of service. He has fought for America, and he has fought for Israel, and we all owe him a debt of gratitude,” she said.
Terry Moseley
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