Former Vice President Mike Pence just admitted that his quest to become the next U.S. president is an "uphill climb."
Pence, according to The Hill, said as much during an interview with Steve Scully on SiriusXM on Friday.
During the interview, Pence attempted to remain optimistic about his 2024 chances while at the same time admitting that he is essentially a longshot candidate.
"Other campaigns have a little bit more money than us, but no one’s got more enthusiasm and no one’s got more experience. So, that’s the message we’re going to continue to carry all across the country in the days ahead," Pence said.
Scully went on to ask Pence specifically about reports that the former vice president may not even have enough resources to make it through the early primaries.
Here, Pence made a pitch for cash, telling those who "want to see the most tested and the most experienced conservative in the race” to donate to his campaign. It was here also that Pence admitted, "The truth is for me it’s always been an uphill climb."
To put things into proper perspective, let us start with a look at the current Republican presidential primary polls.
Real Clear Politics currently has Pence in fifth place with only 3.8% of the vote. The Republican frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, is currently sitting on 59.1% of the vote. Trump has a greater than 50 percentage point lead on Pence.
What this shows is that Pence is suffering from a clear lack of support. And, this shows up in Pence's fundraising numbers as well.
The Hill reports:
The Pence campaign announced last weekend that it raised $3.3 million during the third quarter of the year, lagging far behind front-runner Donald Trump and other candidates, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). The Pence campaign has also accrued $620,000 in debt, and the former vice president has given $150,000 to the campaign from his personal funds.
This, of course, is the big question. It is a question that, quite frankly, can be asked of many of the Republican Party candidates, given Trump's commanding lead over the field.
For Pence, he insists that he has a "duty" to run for the presidency given his experience in politics, which he believes is needed to address the various problems that America is currently facing.
“I looked at all of that experience and concluded we just couldn’t sit this one out,” Pence said.
The voters, though, clearly are not sold on Pence.
