Former Vice President Mike Pence Ends Presidential Campaign, Fails to Gain Momentum

Former Vice President Mike Pence abandoned his bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Saturday, ending his campaign for the White House after struggling to raise money and gain ground in the polls.

Published on: 10/28/2023 – 9:53 p.m.

3 mn

He had little chance but he is the most important Republican candidate to throw in the towel to date. Former Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence, announced on Saturday October 28 that he was withdrawing his candidacy for the Republican Party nomination for the 2024 presidential election.

“I came to tell you that it has become clear to me: it is not my time,” declared Mike Pence, addressing the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) meeting at a convention in Las Vegas, in the Nevada (west).

“After careful consideration and prayer, I have decided to suspend my campaign for president,” he said.

Candidate Pence, who was struggling in the polls with some 3.8% of voting intentions according to the specialized site fivethirtyeight.com, had little chance against his former boss Donald Trump, who is the big favorite of the Republican primaries, despite his legal setbacks.

He did not give any instructions aimed at supporting this or that other candidate during this address which took his audience completely by surprise, but received a standing ovation.

“I am leaving this campaign but let me promise you that I will never give up the fight for conservative values,” he said again.

The eight main candidates for the Republican Party nomination are all scheduled to speak at this weekend rally, including Donald Trump, who is leading the polls, and his closest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

This annual event, where conservative contenders for the Oval Office traditionally seek financial support, is of particular importance this year for the American Jewish community, traumatized by the Hamas attack which left 1,400 dead in Israel on October 7.

Trump crushes the campaign

A fierce opponent of abortion, Mike Pence helped Donald Trump conquer the religious right by being his running mate during the 2016 presidential campaign.

After years of unwavering loyalty, he changed his tone following the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, which shook American democracy.

And this 64-year-old evangelical Christian has even decided to challenge his former boss in the 2024 Republican primaries.

But the chances of the former governor of Indiana quickly appeared very small, with Republican activists loyal to the former president considering him a “traitor”.

This is because Mike Pence, who as vice-president, did not prevent the certification by elected officials of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election, for which Donald Trump and his faithful do not forgive him.

With Mike Pence’s defection, seven major candidates remain seeking the Republican nomination and possibly challenging Democrat Joe Biden, who is up for re-election in November 2024.

Donald Trump is currently crushing the Republican campaign, despite the fact that he is the target of several legal proceedings, including a trial at the federal level starting March 4 in Washington for having tried to overturn the result of the presidential election. 2020.

The former president denounces his legal troubles as so much “electoral interference” at the instigation of the Biden administration to exclude him from the race for the White House.

Donald Trump is also being prosecuted in New York State for suspicious payments to a former porn actress and in Florida for his negligent handling of confidential documents after his departure from the White House.

Along with several of his children, the Republican billionaire is currently on civil trial in a New York state court for alleged financial fraud in the management of his real estate empire.

With AFP

2023-10-28 19:53:38


#United #States #Republican #Mike #Pence #withdraws #presidential #race