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He Was Once a Favorite of the Right. Now, Mike Pence Can’t Get a Crowd of 15 to a Pizza Ranch. (www.politico.com)

submitted 1 year ago by jeffw@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world

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Highlights: To watch Pence on the trail these days is to see a man navigating the awkward, abrupt transition from being next in the line of presidential succession just four years ago to backbencher status among the Republican field. You can see him grapple with his own political mortality, working it out in public.

Since disclosing that he has just $1.2 million cash left, alongside more than $620,000 in debt, Pence’s presidential campaign has not said whether he has qualified for the third debate in Miami next month; he’s reached the polling minimum but not the donor threshold.

Nearly six months into his presidential campaign, and fewer than 90 days until the Iowa caucuses, Pence is not seeing massive crowds like his former running mate Donald Trump, or his fellow Midwesterner Vivek Ramaswamy, or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, or even his longtime frenemy, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. Thirty folks at Penn Drug store in Sidney on a recent Friday morning; another 30 at the Olive Branch Restaurant in Greenfield that afternoon; 60 at a senior center in Glenwood the next day. Nor is he seeing anything but single-digit backing in polls. In Iowa, he’s currently averaging just 2.6 percent among Republican voters.

It’s difficult to find a political prognosticator who is not on his payroll who gives Pence any plausible shot at winning the nomination, a reality he acknowledged on the trail earlier this month. “The media has already decided how all this is going to end,” he told just 13 people at a Pizza Ranch in Red Oak.

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[-] robocall@lemmy.world 61 points 1 year ago

Was he ever a favorite of the right? I thought he was pretty unpopular as governor in Indiana.

[-] Buffaloaf@lemmy.world 59 points 1 year ago

His purpose was to get more religious crazies on Trump's side. Other than that, Republicans didn't like him.

[-] lobut@lemmy.ca 25 points 1 year ago

Seems like a lot of the religious seem to follow Trump regardless. For some reason they buy it when he says his favorite book is the bible and that's he's a Christian. Also, they don't seem to believe Obama when he says he's a Christian...

[-] LemmysMum@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago

If they knew their messiah was a Middle-Eastern Jewish Socialist they'd die of anurisms. I wish they could read...

[-] PRUSSIA_x86@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

I think he was supposed to be Trump's handler, back when people thought that was possible.

[-] PoliticalAgitator@lemm.ee 22 points 1 year ago

They would have literally killed him if he didn't slip away.

[-] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Oh that would have been such a tragedy. Oh no Mike Pence being killed by the movement he helped create. Him being held responsible for his actions for once in his decades of life. Clearly a tragedy.

[-] Horsey@kbin.social 10 points 1 year ago

I always thought he was super popular with the evangelicals and that those folks are declining in numbers. The way I see it, younger conservatives aren’t as religious and are just spiteful towards the left; when you’re spiteful you want a loud mouth candidate who’ll legitimize your beliefs.

[-] coffeetest@kbin.social 6 points 1 year ago

I don't think he was anyone's favorite. If I recall correctly he was going to lose in Indiana before T picked him up to use him.

[-] PeckerBrown@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Indiana resident here. He's as popular as warm drool.

[-] KLISHDFSDF@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago

Was he ever a favorite

Exactly what I was thinking.

this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2023

409 points (100.0% liked)

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