Mike Pence has long harbored presidential ambitions and has taken a conventional route toward the White House, but he likely cost himself a shot at ever winning the Republican nomination by serving as Donald Trump's running mate.
The Indiana Republican took Dan Quayle's advice and left Congress for a gubernatorial campaign to better position himself for a presidential bid, and his vice presidential tenure should have set him up as a strong contender -- except he served under a president who turned the GOP into a personality cult centered around the historically unpopular former reality TV star, reported The Atlantic.
“He stood by while the party was actively changed by Trump, and now it’s not interested in politicians like him anymore,” said anti-Trump Republican strategist Sarah Longwell.
Pence hasn't formally announced whether he would challenge the president whose supporters wanted to hang him for refusing to try and overturn Trump's election loss, but he's acting like a man who doesn't expect the twice-impeached one-term president to risk another loss.
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"Trump won’t run,” said Trump's former chief of staff John Kelly. “He’ll continue talking about it; he may even declare, but he will not run, and the reason is he simply cannot be seen as a loser.”
The former vice president would need to build a coalition of fellow evangelical Christians, cultural conservatives and mainstream Republicans to have a shot at the 2024 nomination, but Longwell says Pence has a big problem.
“Pence doesn’t do well with anybody,” Longwell said.
When she mentions his name, voters wrinkle their nose to express their lack of enthusiasm.
“Not interested," Longwell said.
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