No Path
The GOP presidential race lost another contender over the weekend, as former Vice President Mike Pence called it quits during an address to a Republican Jewish group in Las Vegas.
Johnson, Elder, and Pence…all out within 10 days…and all months before the Iowa Caucus. Further evidence that the RNC’s attempt to nationalize the contest based on polls and cable news channel hits denies voters the chance to have their say.
But for Pence, while there was understandably a desire to get a promotion, there was never a path to victory. Anything about January 6 aside, it was hard to claim he was the successor to Trump with Trump in the race. His own record on life as governor of Indiana had evangelicals a little skeptical. And he fit the role of supporting actor quite well, but folks did not see him as “leading man” material.
His resume was solid…congressman, governor, vice president. But he found the same issue another candidate with a solid resume is having. Asa Hutchinson was a congressman, governor, and administration official…but in an era of both parties in Washington being declared as the swamp, it’s better to be an outsider — so a long resume doesn’t matter when the voters seek an agent of change.
There were other campaign issues…it’s proving to be difficult to run the necessary campaign in Iowa while also worrying about the national committee rules, and Pence is not the first to drop the ball with media relations and publicity prior to events.
At this rate, we have to wonder how many will be left by the time of our caucuses…because the field may be narrowed well before Iowa’s traditional role of narrowing it.
