Due to declining polling and financial difficulties, former Vice President Mike Pence has halted his presidential campaign. He has promised to assist in the future election of “principled Republican leaders.”
“I decided to suspend my campaign for president effective today, after much prayer and deliberation,” Pence declared on Saturday at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual meeting in Las Vegas.
According to a source who spoke to CNN, Pence’s campaign was extremely concerned that he wouldn’t make it to the third debate round next month. According to a Republican advisor close to Pence’s campaign, this worry was a major motivator for his choice, and this week’s multiple days of fundraising did little to allay it.
“The number of donors was simply insufficient,” the Republican advisor stated.
After the humiliating manner in which the Trump-Pence presidency ended, Pence believes he has shaped his image on his own terms as he leaves the race, according to the source.
“Let me assure you that even though I’m ending my campaign, I won’t give up on the battle for conservative principles and the election of morally upright Republicans to every office in the nation. So assist me, God,” Pence uttered on Saturday.
Advisors held a tight rein on the decision to suspend, some sources told CNN. The announcement would be made on stage, something that many event planners were unaware of.
Pence ran on a straightforward platform: he distanced himself from his former boss, Donald Trump, in response to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, and he refocused on the conservative values that Ronald Reagan, the party’s political guiding light, helped to establish.
Pence brought up that concept repeatedly during the campaign, from speeches pleading with his party to reject populism to posters that pointed pointedly to Reagan’s 1984 campaign.
His withdrawal from the 2024 contest is yet another sign that the Trump-shaped conservatism he represents has long since been abandoned by the GOP. Despite his legal issues, Trump remains the front-runner in the GOP presidential contest of 2024.
Before becoming vice president, Pence served as governor of Indiana and as a US congressman. He declared his candidacy early in June. He indicated how much weight he was placing on the early voting state by deciding to launch his campaign in Iowa rather than his home state of Indiana.
He committed to touring all 99 counties in Iowa, emphasizing in-person conversations in private settings. The native of the Midwest, an evangelical Christian, relied on his faith to attract conservative evangelicals, a significant vote bloc in the state.
Pence held the distinct advantage of having been Trump’s vice president, against whom he was running this election cycle for the GOP nominee, in a crowded field.
Pence frequently expressed his pride in the achievements of the Trump-Pence government, but he attempted to argue that Trump wasn’t campaigning on the same conservative platforms as them.
He contrasted his views on Social Security, abortion rights, and international policy, particularly US backing for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, with those of his former running mate. Pence forewarned of what he dubbed Trump and his “imitators” of populism in a speech at the beginning of September.
But the most significant event was the notorious day of January 6, 2021, when Pence defied his employer by not objecting to electoral votes when Congress was certifying the results of the 2020 election.
Even though Pence’s oversight position as vice president was ceremonial, Trump and his allies believed Pence had the authority to step in.
“I wanted the American people to understand that I had no authority to overturn the election and that President Trump was incorrect both then and today. Pence said to CNN in August, “I had no authority to reject or return votes, and that, by God’s grace, I did my duty under the United States Constitution,” a statement he would recite again during the campaign.
Pence’s resignation from the GOP contest was not discussed by Trump in his own remarks on Saturday at the Republican Jewish Coalition meeting. At a Las Vegas campaign event, however, he brought up the news and said that Pence ought to support him.
“He should support me because I had an amazing, successful presidency and he was the vice president,” Trump declared, adding, “But people in politics can be very disloyal. I chose him, I made him vice president.”
Pence received gratitude from supporters throughout his presidential campaign for his work in the administration, his adherence to his Christian religion, and his conduct on January 6. However, support in the polls did not correspond with the admiration for the former vice president.
Pence took part in the first two presidential debates in the GOP primaries. Although he had little trouble achieving the polling requirements to participate in the debates, he had more difficulty reaching the Republican National Committee’s individual contribution level.
Pence filed for the state-run Nevada presidential primary in October instead of the party-run caucuses, which require a $55,000 filing fee. This was one of the more telling signals that the campaign was in peril.
He lost his chance to receive delegates from Nevada to the GOP convention the following year as a result of the action. In the third fundraising quarter, his campaign disclosed $620,000 in debt, raising doubts about the viability of his candidacy.
Pence had pledged to support the eventual GOP nominee, despite his criticism of his opponents in the party. He earlier rejected the notion of submitting another vice presidential nomination, stating that having already run twice for the office was sufficient.