Staff Reports
Mike Pence Drops Bid for 2024 Presidential Nomination
Why Mike Pence failed to make inroads in Trump's party https://t.co/qVnM647IBL https://t.co/qVnM647IBL
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) October 31, 2023
Former Vice President Mike Pence has decided to withdraw his bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Despite running as a repudiation of former President Donald Trump’s changes to the Republican Party, Pence faced a difficult challenge in reconciling his campaign message with his tenure as Trump’s vice president. On one hand, Pence was trying to distance himself from Trump and his populist redefinition of the GOP. On the other hand, he was campaigning on the accomplishments of the “Trump-Pence administration.” This proved to be a difficult needle to thread, and Pence ultimately couldn’t find a way to do it.
Pence’s low polling numbers in Iowa also played a role in his decision. He was only polling at 2% in the NBC News/Des Moines Register poll and 1% in the Iowa State/Civiqs survey, making it clear that he did not have a path to victory. Pence was unable to replicate the success of previous Republican candidates like Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, and Ted Cruz. In many ways, his situation mirrored that of George H.W. Bush in 1988. Bush, who ran as the “kinder, gentler” Ronald Reagan, faced resistance from Reagan loyalists and had a hard time appealing to the conservative base.
One significant difference between Pence and Bush was Pence’s decision to endorse Ted Cruz in the 2016 Indiana primary instead of running against his future running mate, as Bush did against Reagan in 1980. However, this difference did not work in Pence’s favor. Trump’s hold on the GOP primary electorate remained strong even after the events of January 6, when Pence rebuffed Trump on the certification of the Electoral College results.
While there may be a constituency within the Republican Party for rejecting Trumpism in 2024, Pence was not seen as the ideal candidate for this cause. Other candidates like Nikki Haley and Chris Christie had an easier time positioning themselves as alternatives to Trump. Pence’s loyalty to Trump during his vice presidency made it difficult for him to be seen as a credible opponent to the former president.
In the end, Pence’s bid for the 2024 nomination came to a halt before it even reached Iowa. It’s unclear what his next political steps will be, but for now, it seems that Pence’s presidential aspirations have been put on hold.
