- Former Vice President Mike Pence’s involvement in the third indictment of former President Donald Trump won’t help his chances in the 2024 GOP primary, Republican strategists told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
- While Pence testified before the grand jury, he’s mentioned in the indictment, his private notes are being used as evidence against Trump and he has since commended the charges, GOP consultants think his chances at securing the nomination remain low, regardless of his involvement.
- “You can’t shoot a dead man, you can’t kill a dead man,” Mike McKenna, president of MWR Strategies, told the DCNF. “He’s about to become a footnote in history.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence is a major character in the third indictment of former President Donald Trump, and several GOP political strategists told the Daily Caller News Foundation his involvement likely won’t help his chances in the 2024 Republican primary.
Pence testified before the grand jury regarding the former president’s alleged involvement in Jan. 6 and alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election, he is mentioned several times in the indictment, his private notes are being used as evidence against Trump and he has since commended the charges. Republican consultants argued that since Pence’s campaign is already struggling to gain momentum in the primary, they don’t see his involvement in the indictment hurting his footing for 2024, they told the DCNF.
“He’s almost a footnote in the presidential race, and so whatever slight effect the indictment has on him won’t change his footnote status,” Mark Weaver, a GOP consultant, told the DCNF. “He has not been able to find his footing in the modern version of presidential politics, and I don’t see that changing. He is out of step with what most Republicans want right now, and I think his service to the country is in the rearview mirror.”
Mike McKenna, Republican consultant and president of MWR Strategies, echoed Weaver’s sentiment and told the DCNF Pence’s campaign was already “buried, like a long time ago.”
“You can’t shoot a dead man, you can’t kill a dead man,” McKenna told the DCNF. “He’s about to become a footnote in history.”
The former vice president testified for over five hours in late April, where he was probed about conversations he had with the former president leading up to and on Jan. 6. Pence and the vice presidency are mentioned over 100 times in the 45-page indictment, and his personal notes leading up to the Capitol riot that detail Trump’s alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election are cited twice, according to The Washington Post.
Pence has since defended his role in certifying the 2020 election, slamming Trump’s alleged involvement in Jan. 6 and telling Fox News’ Martha MacCallum Wednesday that Trump and his “gaggle of crack pot lawyers” requested that he “reject votes” during the certification process in the Senate.
Trump was indicted by Special Counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday for “Conspiracy to defraud the United States,” “Conspiracy to corruptly obstruct and impede the January 6 proceedings” and “A conspiracy against the right to vote and to have one’s vote counted.” He is set to be arraigned at the Elijah Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington, D.C., on Thursday at 4 p.m. to face the four felony charges.
“Today’s indictment serves as an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States,” Pence said Tuesday. “I will have more to say about the government’s case after reviewing the indictment. The former president is entitled to the presumption of innocence but with this indictment, his candidacy means more talk about January 6th and more distractions.”
Jay Williams, a GOP political strategist, also doesn’t think Pence’s ties with the indictment will affect his chances in 2024, he told the DCNF.
“The moment he got in was the nail in the coffin,” Williams said. “I mean, there’s no chance for him.” (RELATED: ‘Politicized Prosecution’: 2024 Republican Presidential Candidates React To Third Trump Indictment)
President Trump and his gaggle of crackpot lawyers asked me to reject electoral votes and chaos would have ensued. To keep faith with the oath that I made to the American people and to Almighty God, I did my duty that day. pic.twitter.com/FktUIODXCF
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) August 2, 2023
The RealClearPolitics (RCP) average for a 2024 national Republican primary, based off polls conducted between July 12 and July 30, indicates Trump has 53.9% support, and Pence is several spots back at 4.4%. While Trump is leading the crowded field by double digits in all four key early primary state polls, Pence has 2% support in Iowa, 2% support in New Hampshire, 2% support in Nevada and 4% support in South Carolina.
John Feehery, Republican strategist, argued that Pence is “in a tough spot” with his run for president alongside his former running mate, and doesn’t see his support changing.
“It takes a lot of mental gymnastics to get where you can support Mr. Pence. I don’t think the voters have the time or the inclination to go through those mental gymnastics,” Feehery told the DCNF.
Jon McHenry, a GOP polling analyst and vice president at North Star Opinion Research, also argued Pence’s tough position in the primary.
“I don’t think Vice President Pence’s role in the third indictment *hurts* him, in the sense that it makes his position worse than it already is. But I do think it’s a limiting factor for him going forward,” McHenry told the DCNF. “As he sits, it’s too Trumpy for the never Trump folks and, ironically, a traitor to the Trump base. There is theoretically the potential to be the leading non-Trump candidate, but he doesn’t have the showmanship of a Chris Christie or the fire of a Will Hurd.”
Kyle Kondik, a nonpartisan polling analyst and managing editor for Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, echoed the GOP strategists’ sentiment.
“Pence’s numbers with Republicans were already weak, and I doubt they’ll get stronger because of this,” Kondik told the DCNF.
Dr. Charles Bullock, professor of political science at the University of Georgia and an American Enterprise Institute fellow, told the DCNF Pence’s involvement in the indictment could have helped him in a general election, but doesn’t think it’s helping him in the primary.
Pence did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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