Today, Mike Pence, the former Governor of Indiana and Vice President of the United States of America, has officially suspended his campaign to run for President of the United States in 2024. This news comes as a shock to many as only one year ago, Pence was viewed as a viable candidate for the Republican nomination.
Pence announced his campaign last year, amid great fanfare and high expectations. He was seen as a safe bet for an eventual primary win and received the endorsement of prestigious conservative organizations. However, in recent months, Pence’s support has been slipping. His approval numbers have been dropping among Republicans and he’s become increasingly unpopular with the base.
What happened to the 2020 candidate? According to several political analysts, Pence’s biggest problem was his perceived lack of enthusiasm for Donald Trump’s policies and his failure to connect with the broader Republican electorate. He also had difficulty raising money for his campaign, and, coupled with his poor performance in polls, this quickly led to his numbers slipping further.
Furthermore, many Trump supporters accuse him of capitulating to Democrat demands during the Covid-19 pandemic and to the Biden administration. It was also noted that Pence was entirely too quiet during the election fraud controversies and appeared to deflect all of the blame onto Trump.
Pence’s struggles were reflected in several debates among potential Republican candidates for 2024. He failed to capture the attention of voters, coming in with the same message and not offering enough of a contrast to the other candidates. This did not bode well for his future ambitions when running against Trump-aligned candidates.
It is clear that Pence was unable to gain the traction he needed, leading him to announce that he would suspend his campaign “in the best interests of the Republican Party and the country as a whole.” Pence, however, will remain active in the GOP and is expected to contribute to the party’s efforts to win back Congress in 2022.
The sudden end of Pence’s campaign, despite his positive reputation among many Republican voters, reaffirms that the GOP is in a period of flux, and likely will remain that way until the next presidential election in 2024.
